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Feeling the weight lifted

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. :jump: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!
 
Great! Congratulations!
 
What a lovely story, MissJoy, thanks a lot of sharing. Now you are an inspiration for all the other members who are considering starting the journey to beat their fear :)

Glad to hear that you are in good hands with a kind caring dentist who respects your limits and works with you at your pace.

All the best for your further steps on your journey and keep us updated!
 
Thank you so much Miss Joy!

This Is just a beautiful story of courage ! It sounds you have a very kind and good dentist! Very happy for you! Would love to hear more of your story as things progress. :).
 
Thank you all for the lovely responses and well wishes. It's a day and a half after my cleaning and my tongue can't stop exploring how nice my teeth feel. There were areas of my mouth where I never wanted to look at in the mirror. But now And when I look in the mirror I can now see teeth where I previously had years of buildup. This was just an initial cleaning to remove major tartar build up. My scaling & root planning will happen in 2 weeks. I've had it done in the past so I have no worries about it. I just wish it could happen tomorrow so I can speed to the end of this journey.

I keep thinking of the two things I gained most from this site.
1) I am not the only one. There are so many others going through the same anxiety, phobia, challenges, and sub-optimal dental state. It made me realize that most dentists have seen it all. They don't perform routine checkups all day. They help people with routine care and the bad problems alike. This has helped me overcome the fear of embarrassment. And it was true because never once did my dentist make me feel bad. He never asked me why I neglected to go to the dentist. He never lectured me. The only thing he asked was what brought me in. The whole staff was great. I didn't get any questions or looks from the receptionist or hygienist. It was not like my worst fears at all.

2) There is someone here to support me. In the last 10+ years, I have feel alone an isolated. I am very private about my health. I can not talk to my husband, family or friends about this. Even though this is my first thread, I feel connected to so many others by reading their posts. We all have similar stories. We can relate. There is solidarity in our fears and in our triumphs.

I know I'm leaving out a lot of details. I honestly don't know how to cover it all but if you have any specific questions I'm happy to share more.
 
There were areas of my mouth where I never wanted to look at in the mirror. But now And when I look in the mirror

That is real courage. Well done.
 
Hi everyone - I just wanted to post a super quick and positive follow up. Since my last post I've been back to the dentist twice. I had two appointments to preform a deep cleaning (scaling and root planing.) I was diagnosed with mild to moderate periodontal disease and the deep cleaning is the first step to combatting it. Everything went smoothly. I unexpectedly started panicking when I got my first shot of lidocaine but the team was great about it. They gave me a break, told me take deep breaths and talked me through it. My hygienist was great. She constantly asked how I was feeling and checked to make sure I was numb before moving onto the next area. After the cleaning I was number for a few hours but the healing has been amazing. I had zero pain after the procedure and my gums already feel happier. A deep cleaning is nothing to be afraid of!


And for the best news, my teeth really don't need a ton of work. I was expecting several root canals and an extraction + implant. The only thing I have scheduled now are filling replacements. I have silver amalgam fillings on nearly all of my premolars and molars. They are 20+ years old and all need to be replaced. After that we just wait to see how well my gums heal and take it from there. There's a chance I will need additional gum treatment but there's also a chance that they will heal enough where it can be managed.


I am honestly feeling a little disbelief. I expected so much worse. I am so thankful that I decided to tackle this now while it is still manageable. I spent so much time reading, researching, and diagnosing myself online. It was somewhat helpful but it also feed my anxiety and put so many worse case scenarios in my mind. I'm not at the end of my treatment yet but the whole process has been so much easier than I worked myself up for.

Thanks for reading my story and I hope it gives someone else the courage to take their first step.
 
I love when people conquer fears and become happy again!
 
Look at you, having been to the dentist twice.

That's real courage.

Now, there's going to be some moments, but you've got this.
 

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