T
tiredofbeingscared
Junior member
- Joined
- May 29, 2017
- Messages
- 3
I can't believe tomorrow is the day. I finally picked up the phone and called a dentist after almost 7 years avoiding going. Unfortunately, it took a bit of a dental emergency (cusp of a tooth came off...due to decay). I really hate that it took something so dramatic to get me to pick up the phone, but I'm looking at it as a blessing in disguise. I'm so very, very tired of being scared and especially of being embarrassed. I think the embarrassment has actually eclipsed the fear for me.
My fear came about due to having 3-4 fillings needed at every 6 month dentist visit starting in my mid-20s. I gave up soda and worked hard on my dental hygiene, but the dentist told me it was actually damage done when I was a child that was just now cropping up. Nothing I could do about it. And I'm one of those people that the anesthesia doesn't always work well on so fillings were often painful.
Then I moved cities. Then I had a baby. Time slipped away from me; I blinked and it had been 2 years. And then I started the "put it off" dance with myself that I managed to not feel too bad about until year 5. But for the last year and a half I have quickly turned the corner to becoming extremely embarrassed and downright horrified at how I have just refused to take care of my teeth by being under the care of a dentist.
Enough is enough. The energy it takes to worry about this is greater than the pain/embarrassment I'll have tomorrow to show my teeth to a dentist. I know there are dozens of cavities, and a few of them are quite bad. I will need an extensive treatment plan. But when I think about being on the other side of this fear, it feels like a tremendous weight off of my shoulders. So I'm ready.
But of course, I'm also scared out of my mind. Could definitely use some encouragement. I only recently realized that there are so many people out there who are scared of the dentist like me. I thought I was super unusual in that way. I don't wish this fear on anyone else, but at the same time, it does help to know that I'm not alone. Thanks for your encouragement. Any specific tips for me? This dentist is known to work with patients with anxiety so I am expecting a positive environment.
My fear came about due to having 3-4 fillings needed at every 6 month dentist visit starting in my mid-20s. I gave up soda and worked hard on my dental hygiene, but the dentist told me it was actually damage done when I was a child that was just now cropping up. Nothing I could do about it. And I'm one of those people that the anesthesia doesn't always work well on so fillings were often painful.
Then I moved cities. Then I had a baby. Time slipped away from me; I blinked and it had been 2 years. And then I started the "put it off" dance with myself that I managed to not feel too bad about until year 5. But for the last year and a half I have quickly turned the corner to becoming extremely embarrassed and downright horrified at how I have just refused to take care of my teeth by being under the care of a dentist.
Enough is enough. The energy it takes to worry about this is greater than the pain/embarrassment I'll have tomorrow to show my teeth to a dentist. I know there are dozens of cavities, and a few of them are quite bad. I will need an extensive treatment plan. But when I think about being on the other side of this fear, it feels like a tremendous weight off of my shoulders. So I'm ready.
But of course, I'm also scared out of my mind. Could definitely use some encouragement. I only recently realized that there are so many people out there who are scared of the dentist like me. I thought I was super unusual in that way. I don't wish this fear on anyone else, but at the same time, it does help to know that I'm not alone. Thanks for your encouragement. Any specific tips for me? This dentist is known to work with patients with anxiety so I am expecting a positive environment.
