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KittyKat229
Junior member
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2023
- Messages
- 1
- Location
- NY
I posted on this forum about 15 years ago for support on how fearful I was of the dentist. I had to have two permanent teeth out of a very young age due to decay and the dentists I saw at the time was so judgmental. It really scarred me. This forum was helpful to me back then, but after getting another painful tooth treated, I did regress back into the fear. I’ve never been afraid of drills or pain or needles, I’ve always been afraid of judgment.
A few weeks ago a tooth started acting up, and I knew it was time to go back again. I had only been back once to the dentist since 15 years ago and was pretty happy because I thought I had found a great dentist that was going to help me through. I tried for weeks to get in with him again, but his front desk staff was not cooperative and unfortunately, I decided to go somewhere else because I really needed to get this checked out.
I am actually so glad this happened because today I visited the best dentist I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. He took me into the office and we talked for a few minutes, and he asked me how he could help me. I told him I was so afraid of being judged, and then I had shame due to past experiences. He told me it’s a no judgment zone in his office, and that as bad as I think things are, he has seen way worse. He also told me that the past is in the past and his job is to make me happy and get me on the path to feeling better. When they had initially asked me if I wanted to have a full exam today, I had declined because I wanted to take baby steps and just get my achy tooth treated. It has literally have been years since I’ve let a dentist actually look at all of my teeth. He told me he really wanted to do that because he had the time tonight and that way we can get a treatment plan in action right away.
He was so comforting and calming that I agreed to the exam and I’m so glad I did. I was expecting awful news and I got the exact opposite. The tooth that has been aching me that I was sure I was going to need a root canal only needs a deep filling. I do have a couple of other small fillings that need to get taken care of but besides that and a good cleaning, I should be good to go.
I stressed out over this appointment, literally for weeks, and in my head, I was going to get much worse news. I don’t think my fear will ever truly go away completely, but I’m so happy that I am comfortable enough to return and get these issues taken care of, and hopefully put this all behind me. It’s a terrible thing, to live in fear of something that is so ordinary to so many people.
I just wanted to make this post because this forum really did give me the courage to make the appointment, to attend the appointment (everything inside of me was screaming all day to cancel lol), and to be proud of myself, because I took that first step. And it was a big one.
If I can do it, so can you!!
A few weeks ago a tooth started acting up, and I knew it was time to go back again. I had only been back once to the dentist since 15 years ago and was pretty happy because I thought I had found a great dentist that was going to help me through. I tried for weeks to get in with him again, but his front desk staff was not cooperative and unfortunately, I decided to go somewhere else because I really needed to get this checked out.
I am actually so glad this happened because today I visited the best dentist I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. He took me into the office and we talked for a few minutes, and he asked me how he could help me. I told him I was so afraid of being judged, and then I had shame due to past experiences. He told me it’s a no judgment zone in his office, and that as bad as I think things are, he has seen way worse. He also told me that the past is in the past and his job is to make me happy and get me on the path to feeling better. When they had initially asked me if I wanted to have a full exam today, I had declined because I wanted to take baby steps and just get my achy tooth treated. It has literally have been years since I’ve let a dentist actually look at all of my teeth. He told me he really wanted to do that because he had the time tonight and that way we can get a treatment plan in action right away.
He was so comforting and calming that I agreed to the exam and I’m so glad I did. I was expecting awful news and I got the exact opposite. The tooth that has been aching me that I was sure I was going to need a root canal only needs a deep filling. I do have a couple of other small fillings that need to get taken care of but besides that and a good cleaning, I should be good to go.
I stressed out over this appointment, literally for weeks, and in my head, I was going to get much worse news. I don’t think my fear will ever truly go away completely, but I’m so happy that I am comfortable enough to return and get these issues taken care of, and hopefully put this all behind me. It’s a terrible thing, to live in fear of something that is so ordinary to so many people.
I just wanted to make this post because this forum really did give me the courage to make the appointment, to attend the appointment (everything inside of me was screaming all day to cancel lol), and to be proud of myself, because I took that first step. And it was a big one.
If I can do it, so can you!!
