M
MissJoy
Member
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2018
- Messages
- 22
I'm still at the beginning of my dental journey but I couldn't have made it this far without this forum. My anxiety along with all sorts of excuses has lead me to put off seeing a dentist for over 10 years. I kept telling myself that 2018 would be the year. I convinced myself that after the holidays I would face my fears and make the first step and make an appointment. The last few weeks have been absolute torture for me. I was depressed. I felt so much anxiety. All I wanted to do was sleep all day. I knew it all stemmed from my dental issues.
It took me days to finally make that phone call and make an appointment. I kept putting it off and again and again and feeling worse about it. A few times I even dialed and hung up before it rang. Last week, I finally did it. Hands shaking, I made that call and almost immediately I felt this huge amount of relief. That phone call was the biggest hurdle of all. Fast forward a week... and I went to the dentist yesterday!!! I had a full set of xrays done, a decade of tartar build up cleaned out, and a nice talk with the dentist. The whole experience was so much easier than I expected. I have so many awful memories of being in the dentist chair as a kid, the bright light, the loud noises and awful smells. I guess I've grown up a lot... none of that bothered me anymore. Anytime I started feeling shaky I would just close my eyes, take a deep breath and think of a lovely memory.
I have several treatments left to go. My dentist was amazing. He knew my anxiety and fears so we are taking it one step at a time. He did not overwhelm me with a long list of things that need to be done. He told me what he would address immediately (my gums) and that we would take it from there. While my teeth are not great it is no where as bad as my mind had lead me to believe.
I really feel so great. I honestly feel like a new person. My mood is so different from where I was a week ago. I actually feel happy. I have energy. I feel so hopeful. I just know that a year from now, I'll be in a much better place and all of this will be behind me.
Thank you to everyone here. I read a lot of success stories that helped give me the courage to start this journey. This is my first post but I am hoping to write more and give back to this community. Together, we can do this!
It took me days to finally make that phone call and make an appointment. I kept putting it off and again and again and feeling worse about it. A few times I even dialed and hung up before it rang. Last week, I finally did it. Hands shaking, I made that call and almost immediately I felt this huge amount of relief. That phone call was the biggest hurdle of all. Fast forward a week... and I went to the dentist yesterday!!! I had a full set of xrays done, a decade of tartar build up cleaned out, and a nice talk with the dentist. The whole experience was so much easier than I expected. I have so many awful memories of being in the dentist chair as a kid, the bright light, the loud noises and awful smells. I guess I've grown up a lot... none of that bothered me anymore. Anytime I started feeling shaky I would just close my eyes, take a deep breath and think of a lovely memory.
I have several treatments left to go. My dentist was amazing. He knew my anxiety and fears so we are taking it one step at a time. He did not overwhelm me with a long list of things that need to be done. He told me what he would address immediately (my gums) and that we would take it from there. While my teeth are not great it is no where as bad as my mind had lead me to believe.
I really feel so great. I honestly feel like a new person. My mood is so different from where I was a week ago. I actually feel happy. I have energy. I feel so hopeful. I just know that a year from now, I'll be in a much better place and all of this will be behind me.
Thank you to everyone here. I read a lot of success stories that helped give me the courage to start this journey. This is my first post but I am hoping to write more and give back to this community. Together, we can do this!