having dental work soon TERRIFIED!!!

[amcneal]

please help me... I have had the worst experiences in dental care u can imagine.. 2 weeks ago i went to the dentist to have 2 teeth pulled and i had a really bad anxiety attack and the dentist said i need to be sedated for him to pull them. We had to wait for insurance authorization.. Today i got the call and was informed he wants to pull 9 teeth!!!! Wisdoms and molars...im so afraid, im so nervous about recovery time and how to get better. Missing work etc.. Any words of encouragment or support would be welcome and appreciated. I could cry just thinkin gof the incident at the dentist last time he pulled and tugged the tooth didnt come out but i could hear it cracking... I still have pieces of the tooth coming out in chunks!!!! i am so nervous!!!im 32years old and i want to take care of my teeth but no one really understands i cant control the sweating of tremors when they go in my mouth i lose it...god help me

 

[2sleepy]

please help me... I have had the worst experiences in dental care u can imagine.. 2 weeks ago i went to the dentist to have 2 teeth pulled and i had a really bad anxiety attack and the dentist said i need to be sedated for him to pull them. We had to wait for insurance authorization.. Today i got the call and was informed he wants to pull 9 teeth!!!! Wisdoms and molars...im so afraid, im so nervous about recovery time and how to get better. Missing work etc.. Any words of encouragment or support would be welcome and appreciated. I could cry just thinkin gof the incident at the dentist last time he pulled and tugged the tooth didnt come out but i could hear it cracking... I still have pieces of the tooth coming out in chunks!!!! i am so nervous!!!im 32years old and i want to take care of my teeth but no one really understands i cant control the sweating of tremors when they go in my mouth i lose it...god help me

I would sure question how pulling two teeth went to pulling 9 teeth. My last dentist who I thought was pretty good told me for 3 years that I had nothing that needed to be fixed, then one day he tells me I have three teeth that need crowns. I went to another dentist who said I have ONE crown that needs to be replaced but that it would be criminal to put crowns on the other two teeth because there is absolutely nothing wrong with them

 

[Aldridge]

I know it sounds horribly daunting but could you seek a second opinion?

 

[vicki]

Hi and

Your experience doesn't sound very pleasant at all and so it's not surprising that you're worried about going back there.

From your post, it sounds as though you don't really trust this dentist. As Aldridge has said, would it be possible for you to seek a second opinion from a different one? Particularly as I'm not sure how 2 teeth to be removed then becomes 9 teeth; was this not mentioned before? The thing is, different dentists have different opinions and whilst one might say that the teeth need to come out, another might say that they can be fixed.

There are all sorts of ways to help you manage your anxiety, including sedation and/or other methods such as progressive relaxation or being talked through the procedure in order to give you a sense of control over things. One of the things that has the biggest influence is usually the relationship between you and your dentist (in other words, do you trust them and feel comfortable during appointments?). The environment of the dental practice/office also plays a big part as well; for example, is it calm and relaxed or is it busy and very impersonal or clinical looking?

I stopped dentist-dodging about 10 years ago now and for number of years, I went to quite a large practice that had about 7 or 8 dentists. Their waiting room was quite big and they usually had about 3 people working on reception at any time. The phone would constantly be ringing and there would be constant noise of other people talking and the radio playing in the background. Just sitting in the waiting room on it's own would send me into a panic, before I got anywhere near the dentist. I now go to a much smaller practice, where there is a small waiting room and it's much calmer and quieter. Although I still get very anxious during treatment, changing dental practices and dentists has made a huge difference.

Have a read of some of the success stories on here. Many of our posters have had teeth removed, so I'm sure they'll be able to share their experiences.

I hope you don't mind, but I've moved your thread to our Support section so that more people will be able to see and respond to it.