Fillings start tomorrow!

[lawlcano]

Hey everyone! I'm pretty new here. I've posted a couple of threads about my recent and upcoming experiences, and also try to help others when I feel my experience can shed light on their fears or do some good.

This is a great resource and has been a lot of help to me.

I'm starting my ACTUAL dental work tomorrow (May 27th), everything up to this point has been consulting and cleaning.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about starting all this tomorrow. I have 9 cavities, 3 getting filled each appointment. I'll let everyone know how it goes! I have another appointment on the 31st, and the last one June 3rd. This is going to be a miserable week, but I'm looking forward to it being over with!

Shout out to my dental buddy carole You've been a lot of help from all the way across the pond! You've had far more done than I have, and anyone with such overwhelming dental-phobia getting past it and going through with all the necessary treatment is an inspiration. You rock!

The funny thing is that I used to think I was the only one not going to the dentist. I would try to subtly change the subject if the topic of dentistry came up amongst any of my friends/family, thinking I was abnormal and everyone else had perfect teeth. Not the case!

Ever since I made the decision to get my teeth fixed, I've been coming clean with people in my life. It turns out a LOT of people I know go to the dentist VERY infrequently. I found out my brother has only been once since 1998, and that was in 2008. My boss hasn't been in years. A handful of my friends need to go badly. And my Dad didn't go for many years due to a bad experience, though that was a long time ago.

It happens, people! It's more common than you think. This leads me to the point that dentists are FAR more used to mouths in various states of emergency than you would think. You're not going to shock them with the state of your teeth, no matter how bad they are. And once you start the process of getting everything in order, you'll probably feel what I feel. A sense of dread leading up to each appointment, followed by intense relief knowing once it's all done you'll only have to come back for cleanings.

 

[redridinghood]

Again, good luck with the fillings! I hope the lidocaine shot doesn't hurt.

 

[carole]

You will have had your appointment by now I hope things went well for you.

 

[lawlcano]

Thanks guys But I haven't had the appointment yet, carole! Oh but it's so close lol I get late afternoon appointments because of my work schedule, it's 3:30PM here, my appointment is in half an hour!

 

[lawlcano]

Everything went extremely smoothly and quickly. My appointment was at 4:00. I was in the waiting room for around 5 minutes, went back and sat in the chair. Waited....waited....waited....the dentist showed up and numbed me. It was a LOT of shots, but he was doing 3-4 fillings at one time all across one quadrant of my mouth. As I type this the entire right side of my mouth and the right side of my nose are numb lol

I got an amalgam filling for the back tooth, and composite for the front ones. I was back in my car leaving the dentist at 5:15!

The shots were a pinch at most, some I didn't feel at all. They use a topical numbing gel before applying Mr. Needle. I knew it was a bad sign when he took two Q-tips loaded down with the stuff and slathered the entire right side of my gums with the gel lol

I'm not worried at all about the rest of my appointments now!

Edit: I should note that I spent a great deal of my time waiting. 5 minutes in the waiting room, 10 or so minutes while the hygienist set everything up, and 10 or so minutes after the shots for me to get good and numb while the dentist saw another patient. The dentist also spent a good amount of time outside of my mouth even during the procedure, getting various instruments ready. I also had a hygienist who was still in hygiene school assisting, so the dentist was going more slowly and letting her see various things. He actually made a comment that this might be the last amalgam filling she ever sees being performed. I was hesitant for an amalgam filling as I've had many fillings as a kid and have always had composite. But you can barely even tell the amalgam filling is there! It's also a stronger, longer lasting material. Just don't get them on your front teeth unless you're cool with a grill! Overall I'm pleased with my visit to the dentist.

I had the doc in my mouth for maybe 20 minutes out of the entire appointment. As I've alluded to in the past, I've had many fillings as a child/teen. That was the early to late 90's. It always seemed to take much longer back then. But I don't know if it's because my experience of the passage of time is different as an adult, or because the fillings don't take as long as they used to. Regardless, don't be afraid! Your fear is misplaced! You'll be in and out of there in no time. Just be prepared to be numb for a while. I had my shots at roughly 4:30, and wasn't completely un-numb again until after 8:00. But I also had more shots than any human should have to endure lol

 

[irmemac]

That's great news. Thanks for posting back so quickly! Well done, you've coped very well, and I'm really glad to hear that the experience went well enough for you to be less nervous about the next fillings.

 

[carole]

Congrats and well done

GOOD LUCK for the rest of your appointments, although I don't think you will need it

 

[lawlcano]

Thanks so much, carole! I'm certainly not looking forward to the rest of my treatment, but I'm not fearing it as I once was!

I should note that one of my fillings is pretty sensitive at the moment. I've read this is completely normal, moreso for composite fillings but strangely my one amalgam filling is the sensitive one. But there was a sizeable chunk of the tooth missing compared to the other fillings, which were tiny in comparison. It feels strange to have something there where there used to be nothing. I hadn't been able to chew on that side of my mouth for a couple of months. I've been chewing on it since yesterday off and on. I ate potato chips (crisps for you, carole ) for the first time in a WHILE today, and I chewed carefully but deliberately on the filling. It feels a little strange but I'm sure my mouth will adjust.

More fillings in 2 days! Blech!

 

[CautiouCatie]

Well done from me too - you have coped so well. Hope the rest of your treatment goes smoothly too.

 

[carole]

I am so glad that you can eat potato chips now, and thank you for the translation. Sometimes filings can take a few days to settle to a few weeks but I think yours sounds okay.

All the best to you, don't you miss your next appointment, will you

 

[zombiegroupie]

great job you're amazing! i need a couple fillings and have been crapping myself over it

 

[lawlcano]

I am so glad that you can eat potato chips now, and thank you for the translation. Sometimes filings can take a few days to settle to a few weeks but I think yours sounds okay.

All the best to you, don't you miss your next appointment, will you

LOL thanks so much! The fillings are sensitive for sure, but I had the dentist look at one of them just to make sure, he said it looked fine. I'll give it some time to settle down!

I went to the next appointment! 3 more fillings, 6 down 3 to go!

 

[lawlcano]

great job you're amazing! i need a couple fillings and have been crapping myself over it

I really appreciate it! I'm tellin' ya, it's not as bad as you think! They're really fast with it these days, I'm in and out in 45 minutes and an hour 15, only half the time actually spent in my mouth. If I had to describe my filling experience, I'd use the words "uncomfortable" and "annoying" but not "painful" or "scary" or anything like that. It's an unfortunate necessity, but you'll be extremely glad once you get them done!

Don't waste your time being afraid of getting it done, when you could have it done and be thinking of other things instead.

 

[lawlcano]

Last appointment to finish my fillings is tomorrow! The first two went without a hitch. After this is done I will have had 9 fillings done in a 1 week period lol So ready to get it all over with!

 

[CautiouCatie]

That's a lot of fillings in a week - well done Good luck with your next appointment

 

[lawlcano]

All done! Well, except for a wisdom tooth extraction. But I'm getting that done after my next cleaning in December! I need a damn break from the dentist, I've had 6 appointments in a month lol Thanks again everyone for your support and kind words

 

[carole]

Glad you have done now for a while and WELL DONE YOU

 

[zombiegroupie]

Good job!!!!!