• Dental Phobia Support

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help, i need to see a dentist, young and scared

K

kt

Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2015
Messages
48
Location
new zealand
I have a really bad anxiety in general and many things I avoid because of this.
I hate people in my space, touching me and I freeze around anyone i don't know and trust.

i struggle brushing my teeth with the feeling of the brush on my gums but i brush daily.

i know i need some work done as my back teeth hurt when i eat anything.

growing up i was forced to go, i felt horrible and stared for week before never telling anyone though. dentists were really grumpy and insensitive when i said something hurt or showed fear. at 15 i stopped going and haven't been back.

a friend has said they ill come with me who understands and supports me in a big way generally, but that wont be enough i am freaking out just at the thought

what can i do to help get ready to go the see a dentist and have a good experience.
 
Hi Kt and welcome to the forum,
Do you take anything for the anxiety? If so and since you have someone to go with you to the appointment it is a good idea to take a valium or similar and hour or so before your appointment. You should also call the dentist ahead of time and let the office know that you have this fear and anxiety as they may want to prescribe you something else to take.

I have had bad experiences in the past as well. Dentistry has changed a lot over the years and most dentists do understand our anxiety and they are not the grumpy, rough, uncaring dentists of days past.
 
I am scared that taking something to sedate me will add to my issues of lack of control anxiety

does that what these meds do?


yes I already take citalopram daily for general anxiety
 
HELP I am starting to panic,

someone has made an appointment for me with their dentist for nxt week.

I have been concideing sedation, what is it like?
does it make you feel out of control? distanced?

do I take it, should I not go and make her cancel it?

please reply.
 
It does not make you feel out of control at all. it just makes you feel a little bit relaxed and less scared
 
thank you, I still don't know what I should do, I don't feel ready to go just yet. still trying to get the guts and I don't know anything about this dentist.

would you cancel and research dentists first and then make a appointment with one I like or should I just suck it up and go seen as this person has helped by making this appointment for me. ?
 
The wrong dentist would make your situation worse so I would recommend you check out the person and their office first.
 
I cancelled it, and I am going to go there and another dentist next week and meet the dentist and office with nothing more than a meeting. thank you for all your support. I will update after I have meet and decided what to do next.
 
I cancelled it, and I am going to go there and another dentist next week and meet the dentist and office with nothing more than a meeting. thank you for all your support. I will update after I have meet and decided what to do next.


Good luck I hope you find a dentist you feel comfortable with next week.
 
ok, so I emailed three different offices this week and asked about what they offer in new patient exam. and I got two replies, even emailing Them I was shacking and feeling a little sick.

im going to make an appointment and just keep pushing this through, how long does a first appointment go for?


how hard is x-rays and oral cancer screening?
how much bleeding should I expect afterwards?
 
Are they doing a cleaning or just X-rays and cancer screening? If it's just those 2 things (and having the dentist look at your teeth), the whole appointment should only take about 30 min. And, you shouldn't have any pain or bleeding. Even if they do a cleaning, you shouldn't expect any bleeding after. Can I ask what makes you think there will be bleeding after the appointment?
 
I don't know what they are going to do, I have made an appointment, they do a new patient exam and diagnostic test required.

I would assume it includes cleaning so they can see the issues? am I wrong?

I assume they would be bleeding because when I brush my teeth they bleed and the last time I went to the dentist (7 years ago) my mouth bleed for about to day after whenever I ate anything.
 
sometimes a new patient exam doesn't involve a cleaning. you may want to call or email to clarify before your appointment so that you know what to expect. if your gums have been bleeding, you can expect to have some soreness after a cleaning (if they do that at your appointment) for a couple of days. I guess there could be a little bleeding too, but I don't think that's typical. Best of luck to you!
 
ok thank you so much Fearfulinma

I think I might email and ask them what exactly will be done.

I semi don't want to know though. if I don't know I cant over react and stress out.
 
Hi KT

First of all, good for you for making the appointment and working up the nerve to go! This is the hardest part in many ways...hang in there...

I wanted to second Fearful's comment about the cleaning. When I went in after a 10 year break, they did X-rays and screening and measuring gums (don't remember what they call that) and photos and consult with dentist. NO CLEANING. They had me come back for cleaning to be done in two parts in two appointments a week apart. They were able to tell me what work I needed to have done that day, without a cleaning first though so you'll have an idea of what's to come if you want to know. I was too overwhelmed at the time and actually told the dentist he could only tell me 2 things. And he did. Remember you're still in charge. If you don't want to know everything at once don't be afraid to say so.
 
oh ok, I was hoping I could get that done while I still had the nerve and was there, :/ the pre-appointment thinking is my worst part. I tend to zone out, disassociate into my own head to cope.

so that is more money on top of the initial stuff. about how much is cleaning normally?

what are these initial tests? I know x-rays and physically looking around mirror and sharp poky thing, but what else am I going to go through? and what are they like?
 
If you want to have the cleaning at the initial appointment you can see if they will accommodate that. I also feel like the anxiety leading up to the appointment can be the worst part so when I had my first appointment, I had the cleaning then too.

In terms of what they will do at a first appointment for 'tests', it's usually just x-Rays, measuring the gum pockets (this feels weird, but shouldn't be painful), and may gently touch your teeth with one of the dental tools. None of this should hurt.

In terms of cost, I don't know because that can vary from place to place - this is also a very reasonable question to call or email the office about.
 
thank you for your replys,

I don't know if I can go through with this!

I will email them tomorrow and try and clear up the questions I have.
 
ok so I have been avoiding thinking about this for the last few weeks. I was ready to give up, all the fear was to hard and I hadn't even rung them yet.

today I have had a molar chip and it hurts a lot!! and the taste is horrible.

so I have rung and am going in on the 13th.


ahhhhh, I haven't been able to stop shaking and moving around all day.
 
I'm so glad you were able to summon the courage to make an appointment!!! Please know that the anxiety leading up to the appt can really be the worst part. Really! Keep posting here and we will help you get through this... I promise!
 
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