Fed Up and Frightened Now

[Mands86]

Hi,
I've posted here a couple of times before. I developed dental phobia as a child after a particularly bad experience with my childhood dentist. My Mum did manage to find me a specialist new dentist for anxiety but unfortunately the damage was done.

Fast forward to adult hood and over 12 years without a dentist visit.

I broke a tooth in 2014 and plucked up the courage to see a dentist. I cannot fault him but I am still really struggling with anxiety. In the last year I've had an abscess, several fillings, extraction and root canal. I should be able to handle the dentist now but everyone something goes wrong in my mouth the anxiety takes over my life.

On Thursday I started getting a toothache in my upper right back molar next to a partially erupted wisdom tooth. I feared it was an abscess and prepared for the hell. But it doesn't feel like an abscess.

I don't have pain laying down and I'm managing on a couple of 400mg ibuprofen with the odd paracetamol.
I'm scared because it's something new and I don't know what. I have pain across my jaw and around my nose and eyes which is also freaking me out.

I want to go to the dentist tomorrow but I have a project on at work and I'm worried I'll get a disciplinary if I take time off.

I'm really feeling low about this and just wondering if anyone had any tips on not letting my dental anxiety control my life.

Sorry for the essay. Thanks

 

[AsaGohan]

Even with having really pleasant experiences recently, I still think about it a lot. A piece of advice I've seen on this forum is just for now, get your mind off it by doing other things. However, I get that's tough because I totally get that worry about if it's worse. Just make an appointment on a day that is good for work, and focus on the fact that during the appointment the dentist is going to figure out what is.

Hang in there!