Feeling traumatized after dental visits

[cooking]

I have been a good compliant dental patient for many years. Now things have changed - I can make it to the dental office OK, but I end up feeling horribly traumatized afterwards to the point that I really can't function for the rest of the day, and I dissolve into tears when I talk or even think about having even a cleaning.

I have had a lot of dental work done - can't even remember how many root canals and crowns. In the past I was always able to get through the procedures, even enduring pain when the novocaine or whatever didn't work very well, and go on my way.

A couple of years ago I started suffering from erosive oral lichen planus. For those of you that don't know what that is, it's a chronic inflammation which is often painful. In my case the lining of my mouth (buccal membranes) and my tongue are inflamed most of the time. Sometimes it gets so bad I can't eat normal food, sometimes it hurts to talk. It makes any dental work more painful because it hurts when they pull on my mouth. There isn't any very good treatment for this (please, you dentists out there, don't tell me to use steroid rinses - been there, done that - not a good solution). In the process of trying to diagnose this licen planus thing, I had a couple of very painful biopsies of my tongue, and I think that's where the problem started. The procedure wasn't painful, just afterwards.

About a year ago I went to the dentist and had a cleaning. I went home and spent the rest of the day curled up on the couch in the fetal position, completely paralyzed by the trauma. I felt like I had been physically assaulted. Afterwards, even a year later, I would start to cry every time I thought about that cleaning. It wasn't even a particularly painful cleaning.

So today, I went to a new dental office (I moved) for half of a cleaning. I had carefully explained to the very nice new dentist about my reaction last time, and insisted that they only try to do half of my mouth. The nice hygeinist was very gentle and really didn't hurt me at all. I was doing just fine - they even got more than half of my mouth done, and she decided to do that thing where they poke your gums looking for pockets (which also isn't particularly painful). Suddenly I just dissolved into tears, sobbing and she had to stop. I'm sitting here, 8 hours later, with tears in my eyes as I think about this. I had to go to work, or else I would have spent the day curled up in the fetal position on my couch again.

My current plan is to wait another year, find a new dentist (I didn't like it that he tried to sell me about $10,000 of work that I don't need), explain that they have to give me something - a sedative or something! and try to get through another cleaning. I think I'm OK to do this because other than wanting to replace most of my crowns for no good reason, the exam I had didn't really show anything and the hygeinist said I didn't have much plaque.

Has anyone else had this experience? I'm sure I can make myself go to the dentist again. I'm not really afraid going. But I really don't want to endure this emotional reaction afterwards that I'm experiencing. Is this post traumatic stress disorder? Any suggestions?

 

[Stress Doc]

Hello Cooking and welcome.

Sounds like you have had a rough time and been through numerous dental challenges. You have done a superb job dealing with this and are to be congratulated for how well you have done.

You could be having some PTSD. It would take more information ascertain. Common symptoms are:

• Frequently having upsetting thoughts or memories about a traumatic event.
• Having recurrent nightmares.
• Acting or feeling as though the traumatic event were happening again, sometimes called a "flashback."
• Having very strong feelings of distress when reminded of the traumatic event.
• Being physically responsive, such as experiencing a surge in your heart rate or sweating, to reminders of the traumatic event.

You are certainly have anxiety and panic attack symptoms which can appear alone or occur with PTSD. These are usually tied to a specific physical trigger like the probing of the gums, which is invasive like a biopsy. From what you are saying this appeared to trigger a panic attack. These are physically, emotionally and mentally exhausting.

The fetal position is the oldest position we have for self-protection.

Based upon your past experiences this has been building for a while and the trigger put it over the top. These conditions are real and common. Your brain is attempting to protect you from a perceived threat. Anxiety is quite common and quickly robs quality of life.

You will probably experience some short term memory blanking, cold hands and feet, rapid shallow breathing, stomach upset, inability to think or make rational decisions, tearful episodes, muscle pain, a desire to flee or get away and others.

You are going to be OK. I understand how life altering these experiences are and how controlling they can be. Anxiety induces feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. The good news is it can be dealt with fairly easily.

The most important thing is not to define yourself by the condition. You are not an anxious person. You are a strong, confident person that is experiencing anxiety symptoms. You can have victory.

People with anxiety do not relax and slow down. They tend to be constantly aroused and on edge. These actions and attitudes become a normal habit pattern. We never break habits, we replace them.

I am an anxiety/phobia specialist. I can provide you with some techniques that should help you to get some relaxation back into the cycle. PM me if you are interested.

You are a person with tremendous personal power and inner strength. You have abilities beyond what you believe. Thank you for sharing your story. All the best