Horrible Anticipatory Anxiety

[Aldridge]

Well done you! Hope you will not be too sore...I will continue to send good thoughts for you. Last time our dentist had a new assistant, I thought I was going to drown; it doesn't help, does it?

 

[Justbreathe]

WOW!! This thread was the closest one to how I'm feeling out of all the ones I've read! Thank you sooooo much for sharing! I have a really hard time feeling ridiculous for my out of control anxiety that I get from dentist appointments. I have a tooth that my dentist told me recently will need a crown for and although it's bothering me a little bit lately, I'm reluctant to have it taken care of because I KNOW it will need a root canal. I've been through this with another tooth. It had a crown, then needed a root canal and it still bothers me. I've asked to have it taken out which of course requires an implant. So they say, and the extraction itself freaks me out enough! I've been in dental limbo for months and it's making me crazy. Literally.

After I finally make myself go, it's always completely fine. But I can't agree with you more about the anticipatory anxiety. I am 100% fine as soon as I plop down in the chair and I'm making it clear to the dentist that he is my mortal enemy and he needs to be nice to me . It's an incredible phenomenon. I'm also aware that I am free to leave at any time. But then the work will still need to be done, but knowing that the dentist is really there FOR ME helps calm me down. I hope everything goes well for you and you can get back to your life. I'm truly sorry for your discomfort but know you are not alone!! Your post has brought be great comfort and I'm very appreciative of that! Keep us posted

 

[FearfulInMA]

I have a tooth that my dentist told me recently will need a crown for and although it's bothering me a little bit lately, I'm reluctant to have it taken care of because I KNOW it will need a root canal. I've been through this with another tooth. It had a crown, then needed a root canal and it still bothers me. I've asked to have it taken out which of course requires an implant. So they say, and the extraction itself freaks me out enough! I've been in dental limbo for months and it's making me crazy. Literally.

I'm so glad that I'm not the only one who's better in THE CHAIR than before the appointment. I had the crown preparation done just over a week ago and I was so incredibly grateful when the dental office called me to see if I could come in more than a week earlier than expected. So far, the temporary crown has been uncomfortable, but does not seem to be acting up as much as the other ones. I am more and more hopeful that this one will not require RCT. What I knew was that, if I didn't at least try to crown, it would most certainly require RCT at some point because, despite my very good oral hygiene, my 4 2nd molars just continue to decay and decay (it's the other 3 that have had RCT)

After I finally make myself go, it's always completely fine. But I can't agree with you more about the anticipatory anxiety. I am 100% fine as soon as I plop down in the chair and I'm making it clear to the dentist that he is my mortal enemy and he needs to be nice to me . It's an incredible phenomenon.

The part about the dentist being your "mortal enemy" made me laugh! I do feel that way sometimes too... though after 6 years being treated by the same dentist I have more moments of being able to see him as someone who does truly want to be helpful. He is always very concerned that I not feel any pain and, even after 6 years, still reminds me that I can raise my hand if I feel anything at all painful (or even if I need a break). He's very good at using distraction when doing things that might be uncomfortable (like some injections -- I am terrified of injections, but after so much dental work, I am strangely less terrified of them in my mouth than I am in my arm-- weird!) and I'm grateful that I trust him enough now to allow myself to be distracted. I'm still anxious in THE CHAIR, but nothing like the days and hours leading up to the appointment.

I go back in less than a week for the permanent crown which I'm hoping will be more comfortable than the temporary... I've never made it this far in the process with a 'live' tooth... so fingers crossed!