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Finally Did It! - A Terrified's Ex Soldiers experience with overcoming Dental Phobia

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christopherstarks

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Apr 30, 2014
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Finally Did It! - A Terrified's Ex Soldiers experience with overcoming Dental PhobiaH

Hello Everyone,

My name is Christopher. After visiting this site over the last few months, I find it comforting to know that I am not the only one that shares a direct fear of having dental work done. I wanted to share my experience in hopes that someone else out there with this fear will feel a bit more at ease and be able to get any dental work needed to be done. Trust me, I just had 10 teeth, 3 of them being wisdom teeth extracted, and it was not as bad as I had worked myself up to believe it would be.

I start out in 2006, I had always been afraid of the dentist. I served in the United States Army and never did have to confidence in military dentists. It was always viewed as military dentists as those who were never able to open their own practice and therefore, the military was their only option to practice in their field. It was expected that they were inexperienced and as such brought on my fear. I had to get a root canal done. As terrified as I was, the procedure was practically painless. The root canal however was done improperly, having in 2009 after getting xray's the dentist was wondering why I had a huge hole in my back molar. The dentist wanted to open it up for inspection, and that's where he found out the previous dentist had started the root canal, but never finished the job, leaving 3 cotton balls (Tiny ones) inside the molar. The tooth itself was very strong, however the dentist opened it up, cleaned it out, finsihed getting the rest of the roots the previous dentists did not get out, he then put some orange pegs inside it, sealed it up, and then I left for Afghanistan 2 weeks later. About 3 weeks into my deployment, the root canal broke in half. We had no dental facilities in place so I ended up going through the entire deployment (1 year) with the broken tooth. The tooth itself did not hurt. What bothered me the most was my eating habits had to change. There were many foods that I could not eat any longer. THis caused me to start losing weight. Upon return from deployment, I had a dentist look at it and their immediate response was to just pull it, whereas I had another dentist say they could fix it.

After a while I just got used to the tooth, however again, I still had to change my eating habits. I continued to lost weight and eventually, out of fear, just stop brushing my teeth. I had a fear that I would make the composite material inside loose. Eventually, other teeth started to chip away and or break. I had to start taking Ibuprofen everyday and eventually foods I could eat decreased from simple soft meats and chicken, to nothing more than mac and cheese, mashed potatoes and spegetti-O's. I did this for about 2 years. One day while video chatting over Facebook with my mom, she noticed that I had lost a lot of weight. Now I wasn't a big guy, I would normally weight in around 155lbs while in the military, but my face, arms and everything else was smaller. I had lost over 20lbs just because I couldn't eat that much, but was too afraid to go to the dentist. My wife had mentioned many times that I needed to just go in and get some work done on them, but I would chicken out and refuse. I would have rather died than get dental work done.

Here I am in 2014 and a back molar that had a filling in it broke, Ok I'm used to that happening but this time, the filling was exposed and was cutting on my tongue to the point where I couldnt anymore or drink anything without a sharp cutting pain on my tongue. Mind you, before this, My gums were tender and would always hurt, sometimes keeping me up at night. I would just take some Ibuprofen and cry myself to sleep.

A few days ago this all changed. When that molar broke, I got an emergency appointment to see a local dental facitliy. I was terrified. I kept telling myself they were goign to tell me I had the worst mouth they'd ever seen, or that worse, maybe with all the rotten molars, I would have contracted mouth cancer or something. I was terrified and sick to my stomache. That all changed, when I went in, they were going to do the initial assessment. I explain to them that my teeth were very brittle and the ladies that did my xray's understood this and were extremely gentle with me As much as I thought they were going to be fast and rough throughout the procedure, they were actually make me feel like I was in control of how fast the assessment went.

The end result was basically teeth removal. The dentist came in, he looked at my teeth and didn't even use the point curved tools as he could tell I was afraid. He did his assessment and told me that it was just best to get rid of the bad teeth in the back. Because of my fear, he got our medicated to pay for what is called a Conscience IV Sedation. Afterwords, instead of just sending me home, he took out a tiny drill and told me he was going to smooth off the exposed filling on the back molar to hold me off until my appointment. It went smoothly. I left the dental place feeling good.

A week later I would undergo my surgery. Let me tell you, during that week, I felt like it was going to be easy and I would do just fine, but the night prior, I started freaking out. I spent hours on this website reading people's positive reviews about getting dental work done and how it's all in your head that makes it bad, and that the dental work is easier than they had thought. It didn't comfort me. I kept running all kids of crazy ideas in my head, and was in tears up until 2am that morning. My appointment was at 8am. I think I smoked half a pack of cigarettes during that time. Eventually I fell asleep.

The Day of the appointment, I drove myself with my wife. I remember freaking out as I walked inside the dental office waiting for my checkin. once they called my name, my heart sank. I almost panicked and almost refused to go into the dental chair as I saw all the extraction tools laid out.

Let me start of by saying, what people are talking about it all being in your head getting yourself all worked up is true. I was a total mess that morning, The lady asked me to lay down in the chair and I must've askem them a gazillion questions about the IV sedation. The heart rate monitor confirm my heart was racing. Then the dental surgeon came in. He showed me my xrays and the 10 teeth he was going to be pulling. I asked him how long it would take and he replied simply "45 mintues tops" I didn't believe him. They put the IV in my arm. I've never been afraid of getting blood drawn so that was easy for me, then he stuck a needle into the IV explaining he was giving me a amnesiatic type of drug....I remember him saying " Let's get started" and that's pretty much about it. I do remember waking up everynow and then and seeing him with a bloody gauze with a tooth in it, and I also remember bits and pieces of feeling him give me stitches...but for some reason, I just didn't care. From the way my mouth feels today (yesterday was the op) I won't lie, I feel like I got into a bar fight or something and got my butt kicked by 2-3 guys but for some reason, during the operation, even though I think I was awake and aware, I didn't seem to care what was going on. I think I even told myself "ooh, he pulled another tooth...well Imma go back to bed now) and I closed my eyes....that medicine really displaces you.

I didn't realize just how much I've written already. I am still on Hydrocodone and such right now so I apologize for any misspellings or grammical errors. That's not my purpose... What I want to tell you is basically, no matter how bad your mouth may be, Trust the dentist. They are good at what they do.

Yeah, I may feel like crap right now, meaning I am not in any pain, more or less just uncomfortable with the pressure at times, not being able to open my mouth as much, or drink regularly, I can say that removing 7 molars and 3 wisdom teeth were very easy.

Please do not put it off any longer. If you are allowed to option of IV Sedation, it's a win-win situation. As terrified as I was, I did it easily...even though I kept telling myself that it was never gonna work... I know I woke up for a few seconds durng the operation from time to time, but honestly the Sedation just puts you in a state of not giving a care in the world. I don't even remember him giving me the novacaine injection.

If I can do it, I know you can too, because trust me, I would have rather deal with the daily pain than see a dentist,... but I was able to do this. I am amazed that I did, and I can honestly say, even though the afteraffects are undesireable, I feel much better knowing that instead of living each day with pain knowing it's only getting worse... I can deal with a little discomfort for a few days knowing that it's only going to get better with each day now...

In the end, I will be going back to get 2 root canals done on my front teeth once I heal, and I will be getting 2 partials done...I'm not afraid anymore because I know in a few months, instead of mac and cheese, mash potatoes... It'll be a burger and fries and maybe even a bag of chips while I play a video game...(haven't had chips in almost 2 years)
 
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Re: Finally Did It! - A Terrified's Ex Soldiers experience with overcoming Dental PhobiaH

I must say, great story. Thanks for sharing and I hope you have a nice recovery.
 
Re: Finally Did It! - A Terrified's Ex Soldiers experience with overcoming Dental PhobiaH

Hello Everyone,

My name is Christopher. After visiting this site over the last few months, I find it comforting to know that I am not the only one that shares a direct fear of having dental work done. I wanted to share my experience in hopes that someone else out there with this fear will feel a bit more at ease and be able to get any dental work needed to be done. Trust me, I just had 10 teeth, 3 of them being wisdom teeth extracted, and it was not as bad as I had worked myself up to believe it would be.

I start out in 2006, I had always been afraid of the dentist. I served in the United States Army and never did have to confidence in military dentists. It was always viewed as military dentists as those who were never able to open their own practice and therefore, the military was their only option to practice in their field. It was expected that they were inexperienced and as such brought on my fear. I had to get a root canal done. As terrified as I was, the procedure was practically painless. The root canal however was done improperly, having in 2009 after getting xray's the dentist was wondering why I had a huge hole in my back molar. The dentist wanted to open it up for inspection, and that's where he found out the previous dentist had started the root canal, but never finished the job, leaving 3 cotton balls (Tiny ones) inside the molar. The tooth itself was very strong, however the dentist opened it up, cleaned it out, finsihed getting the rest of the roots the previous dentists did not get out, he then put some orange pegs inside it, sealed it up, and then I left for Afghanistan 2 weeks later. About 3 weeks into my deployment, the root canal broke in half. We had no dental facilities in place so I ended up going through the entire deployment (1 year) with the broken tooth. The tooth itself did not hurt. What bothered me the most was my eating habits had to change. There were many foods that I could not eat any longer. THis caused me to start losing weight. Upon return from deployment, I had a dentist look at it and their immediate response was to just pull it, whereas I had another dentist say they could fix it.

After a while I just got used to the tooth, however again, I still had to change my eating habits. I continued to lost weight and eventually, out of fear, just stop brushing my teeth. I had a fear that I would make the composite material inside loose. Eventually, other teeth started to chip away and or break. I had to start taking Ibuprofen everyday and eventually foods I could eat decreased from simple soft meats and chicken, to nothing more than mac and cheese, mashed potatoes and spegetti-O's. I did this for about 2 years. One day while video chatting over Facebook with my mom, she noticed that I had lost a lot of weight. Now I wasn't a big guy, I would normally weight in around 155lbs while in the military, but my face, arms and everything else was smaller. I had lost over 20lbs just because I couldn't eat that much, but was too afraid to go to the dentist. My wife had mentioned many times that I needed to just go in and get some work done on them, but I would chicken out and refuse. I would have rather died than get dental work done.

Here I am in 2014 and a back molar that had a filling in it broke, Ok I'm used to that happening but this time, the filling was exposed and was cutting on my tongue to the point where I couldnt anymore or drink anything without a sharp cutting pain on my tongue. Mind you, before this, My gums were tender and would always hurt, sometimes keeping me up at night. I would just take some Ibuprofen and cry myself to sleep.

A few days ago this all changed. When that molar broke, I got an emergency appointment to see a local dental facitliy. I was terrified. I kept telling myself they were goign to tell me I had the worst mouth they'd ever seen, or that worse, maybe with all the rotten molars, I would have contracted mouth cancer or something. I was terrified and sick to my stomache. That all changed, when I went in, they were going to do the initial assessment. I explain to them that my teeth were very brittle and the ladies that did my xray's understood this and were extremely gentle with me As much as I thought they were going to be fast and rough throughout the procedure, they were actually make me feel like I was in control of how fast the assessment went.

The end result was basically teeth removal. The dentist came in, he looked at my teeth and didn't even use the point curved tools as he could tell I was afraid. He did his assessment and told me that it was just best to get rid of the bad teeth in the back. Because of my fear, he got our medicated to pay for what is called a Conscience IV Sedation. Afterwords, instead of just sending me home, he took out a tiny drill and told me he was going to smooth off the exposed filling on the back molar to hold me off until my appointment. It went smoothly. I left the dental place feeling good.

A week later I would undergo my surgery. Let me tell you, during that week, I felt like it was going to be easy and I would do just fine, but the night prior, I started freaking out. I spent hours on this website reading people's positive reviews about getting dental work done and how it's all in your head that makes it bad, and that the dental work is easier than they had thought. It didn't comfort me. I kept running all kids of crazy ideas in my head, and was in tears up until 2am that morning. My appointment was at 8am. I think I smoked half a pack of cigarettes during that time. Eventually I fell asleep.

The Day of the appointment, I drove myself with my wife. I remember freaking out as I walked inside the dental office waiting for my checkin. once they called my name, my heart sank. I almost panicked and almost refused to go into the dental chair as I saw all the extraction tools laid out.

Let me start of by saying, what people are talking about it all being in your head getting yourself all worked up is true. I was a total mess that morning, The lady asked me to lay down in the chair and I must've askem them a gazillion questions about the IV sedation. The heart rate monitor confirm my heart was racing. Then the dental surgeon came in. He showed me my xrays and the 10 teeth he was going to be pulling. I asked him how long it would take and he replied simply "45 mintues tops" I didn't believe him. They put the IV in my arm. I've never been afraid of getting blood drawn so that was easy for me, then he stuck a needle into the IV explaining he was giving me a amnesiatic type of drug....I remember him saying " Let's get started" and that's pretty much about it. I do remember waking up everynow and then and seeing him with a bloody gauze with a tooth in it, and I also remember bits and pieces of feeling him give me stitches...but for some reason, I just didn't care. From the way my mouth feels today (yesterday was the op) I won't lie, I feel like I got into a bar fight or something and got my butt kicked by 2-3 guys but for some reason, during the operation, even though I think I was awake and aware, I didn't seem to care what was going on. I think I even told myself "ooh, he pulled another tooth...well Imma go back to bed now) and I closed my eyes....that medicine really displaces you.

I didn't realize just how much I've written already. I am still on Hydrocodone and such right now so I apologize for any misspellings or grammical errors. That's not my purpose... What I want to tell you is basically, no matter how bad your mouth may be, Trust the dentist. They are good at what they do.

Yeah, I may feel like crap right now, meaning I am not in any pain, more or less just uncomfortable with the pressure at times, not being able to open my mouth as much, or drink regularly, I can say that removing 7 molars and 3 wisdom teeth were very easy.

Please do not put it off any longer. If you are allowed to option of IV Sedation, it's a win-win situation. As terrified as I was, I did it easily...even though I kept telling myself that it was never gonna work... I know I woke up for a few seconds durng the operation from time to time, but honestly the Sedation just puts you in a state of not giving a care in the world. I don't even remember him giving me the novacaine injection.

If I can do it, I know you can too, because trust me, I would have rather deal with the daily pain than see a dentist,... but I was able to do this. I am amazed that I did, and I can honestly say, even though the afteraffects are undesireable, I feel much better knowing that instead of living each day with pain knowing it's only getting worse... I can deal with a little discomfort for a few days knowing that it's only going to get better with each day now...

In the end, I will be going back to get 2 root canals done on my front teeth once I heal, and I will be getting 2 partials done...I'm not afraid anymore because I know in a few months, instead of mac and cheese, mash potatoes... It'll be a burger and fries and maybe even a bag of chips while I play a video game...(haven't had chips in almost 2 years)
Firstly, I want to thank you for your service to our country. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
I am so glad things are back on track with you, dental wise. Way to Go!!!!! I think all of us get so far into our heads, prior to any dental appointment, and we fear the worse and it rarely, if at all, happens. I had neglected going to the dentist for years, was getting gum abscesses, and finally threw in the towel! It wasn't nearly as bad as I had built it up in my mind. I had to go to a periodontist for a root planing and scaling, and was petrified (although through the years, I had veneers, root canals, extractions, etc) I completed my root planing and scaling this past Monday, and it was no where's near as bad as I thought. The injections were no picnic but its 5 minutes of my day, not a big deal AND Im saving my teeth :) You took a GIANT step, and try to think of it, as the worse is over! Once we start visiting the dentist again, the fear isn't as severe. (I still hate those *bleep* shots LOL) Keep looking forward to better dental health!
 
Re: Finally Did It! - A Terrified's Ex Soldiers experience with overcoming Dental PhobiaH

That is very true. I must agree, It was no where near as bad as I had imagined it in my head. I would worry myself sick. It sicken's me to some degree to know that what only took 1 hr to fix, I was willing to deal with for 2 years....out of fear... fear that was unnecessary. I am on the end of the 2nd day of my recovery process. It hurts at times, I admit that. But I remind myself that I dealt with this type of pain for over 2 years without getting better. This time, it's a few more days of pain, but I know it's only going to get better from here on out. It really is all in our heads though. I don't know how many times I read that from others, but it never clicked nor did I believe it. I do now and I just hope someone else out there will take these words for what they are and let their fears go. It was nothing like I had expected. The truth is simple, yeah it may hurt a little during the recovery process, which is to be expected, but honestly, it's no pain or discomfort that a little Ibuprofen can't handle and I say that because it seems like the Hydrocodone they prescribed me does nothing but make me sleepy. The Ibuprofen helps with any pains I have...The surgery itself was painless. I do not remember the injections, nor do I remember any cracking or breaking sounds of teeth. I went in and before I knew it, I was being escorted out and heading home where I took a nap until 4pm...I woke up and asked my wife "Where are my back teeth" I apparently forgotten completely of having ever been to the dentist that morning...
 
Re: Finally Did It! - A Terrified's Ex Soldiers experience with overcoming Dental PhobiaH

Hi and well done :jump::jump::jump::jump::jump: I really enjoyed reading your story. How brave you must feel right now and proud of yourself, as you should.

CONGRATULATIONS :cheer::cheer::cheer::dance::dance::dance::dance2::dance::dance::dance::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::yayy::yay::yay::yay::claps::claps::claps::claps::claps::bounces::whirl::whirl::whirl::wow::perfect::butterfly:

Happy healing :respect::respect::respect: try an ice pack against your cheeks for the swelling it might help. :)
 
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Re: Finally Did It! - A Terrified's Ex Soldiers experience with overcoming Dental PhobiaH

I go back in on May 6th for check up for the post surgery, and then on the 22nd to get a few fillings. Once this is done, I hope to hear the "see you in 6 months"... I hope. The post effects do not hurt anymore, it's my lips that hurt still. they are cracked, chipped and sore from all the pressure of him pulling the bottom teeth out perhaps? The slits in the corners of my mouth is where it hurts most...
 
Re: Finally Did It! - A Terrified's Ex Soldiers experience with overcoming Dental PhobiaH

I would try using vaseline on your lips and in the corners of your mouth :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug::butterfly:
 
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