How to overcome fear of having teeth pulled?!!!! Any suggestions! EEEK!! Nervous of IV Sedation too!

[kpaul91101]

How to overcome fear of having teeth pulled?!!!! Any suggestions! EEEK!! Nervous of IV Sedation too!

I need two teeth out asap! Broken teeth from filling falling out and neglecting to go in when it first broke and another one that was root canaled and failed and totally crumbling without a crown! I have walked out of the hospital during my scheduled appointment because I was too darn afraid. My nerves were through the roof with fear! I am too nervous for the IV sedation, the risks involved and side effects. I am a nervous anxious person in general but have no fears but this one!!!!!!! I cannot chew cannot eat anything much and everyday obsessing about going in to get these pulled! I fear the day the pain or swelling is extreme and forced to go in! I don't want that either I need to get motivated to go in but living off mashed potatoes and smoothies is obviously not enough, the fear is stronger than this sucky diet and way of life! I don't know what to do anymore, I even see a counselor and do my own self hypnosis cd and nothing will even lessen this fear I am losing it, crabby, depressed and feel so down about life! Has anyone had IV sedation, like Versed? being awake not asleep and what was it like and any side effects?? How bad is the pain after they pull a tooth out ? I can't take pain killers they don't agree with me!! How did you get motivated to face your fear and what helped and what doesn't help? Please share I would be so grateful to hear anything

 

[FearInOmaha]

Re: How to overcome fear of having teeth pulled?!!!! Any suggestions! EEEK!! Nervous of IV Sedation

I had IV sedation a long time ago, when I needed to teeth pulled for braces. It did work very well and I don't remember there being much pain afterward. That was nearly 25 years ago and dentistry has made a lot of advances since then, so I think if you can get to your appointment you will be ok.

Most recently, I had oral sedation for a crown prep and some fillings. That worked incredibly well too. I have no memory of the drilling at all. I wonder if that would be an option for you?

 

[carole]

Re: How to overcome fear of having teeth pulled?!!!! Any suggestions! EEEK!! Nervous of IV Sedation

I would weigh up the pro's and cons concerning after effects of tooth removal. You have suffered for a long time and now feel really low and run down, which you will be. Any pain after extraction will be nothing compared to the pain you are in now. A lot of people don't need pain meds after.

At the most within a couple of weeks things will feel okay with no pain usually. If you compare this to months of pain you have already had and the months or pain you will have, just a couple of weeks tops and that is an over estimate and you could be rid of the pain and start to build yourself back up.

You won't feel the extraction as you will be totally numb.

 

[nikki06]

Re: How to overcome fear of having teeth pulled?!!!! Any suggestions! EEEK!! Nervous of IV Sedation

Hi, I've never had Iv sedation, I've had oral sedation for an endoscopy so I can't really make comment on that side of things.. But what I would say is that maybe a counsellor isn't the right person for you? I've seen a counsellor in the past (not for dental issues) and while it was really good to have that person there for me to talk to, cry on, whatever, he wasn't trained enough to actually help me (and that came from his words, not mine). He was a great listener, but in terms of actual help, exercises to complete, etc etc, a cognitive behavioural therapist was far better for me, she got me through years of hell, helped me, gave advice, pushed me when I needed, listened when I needed and just explained things and broke it all down to where I could finally make sense of things and see why Id ended up in such a mess. Could this be an option for you?

I've had a couple of extractions and they were fine, I didn't feel anything and they were over before I knew it. The pain after was more so with one extraction because I think there was an abscess present at the time.. But nothing major, it didn't keep me awake or anything

You'll be ok. I can understand your fear, I'm the same.. I'd rather put up with things than take medication etc, I take tablets then end up sitting there like a ticking time bomb waiting for something awful to happen! Just try to stay calm, plenty of people have feared sedation, then they have it and wonder what all the fuss was about.. So it can't be that bad!