I just wish it was not such a big deal ....

[clarex]

okay here we go .... already guess i dnt like the dentist :/

i am 19 next month my teeth are not perfect at all. i never been to the dentist until i was abot 14 i only went for a year had a few fillings and that was it and a couple of months ago i found out about the sedation method which is perfect .... my way of getting everything done without being awake. so got a new dentist and went for the check up had xrays and he said i need 3 fillings and i wanted it done through a sedation way so refered to the hospistal. i went on thursday and its the worst i have ever been .... he more or less said the the truth were the other 2 dentist that i have tip toed around. he said that i need to be shown how to brush my teeth properly ... that makes me think then so for years i have not brushed them right .... need about 3 fillings and maybe 4 teeth out then onto braces but as i started work in sept i wil have to pay.... while he was telling me this i just could not stop crying .... he sent me for an xray and i could not do that ... i was shaking and crying and all i wanted to do was go back to the car .... i did and my dad went back to him to say that i was to scared ... i have 2weeks until the card for the xray is out of date.

i am so petrefied of the dentist .... i have not really had a bad experience at all i just hate it .... my mum and dad keep trying to sell it to me in ways saying its only going to go worse ect ..... it is just so good to know that there is other people out there that are feeling the same way as me ..... i just thought i was the one who was this way and a freak

i honestly hate the dentist with a passion .... i just hate it all there is no spacific which in ways i think it makes it worse as if i knew what it was i could in ways sort it out but i dnt think it ever will its just my demon i supose

thanks for reading this
clare

 

[karolina]

Dear Clare,
if it makes you feel any better, I am 25 now and my first visit to the dentist was when I was 23.. I was really scared to go but my boyfriend persuaded me to make an appointment. I went to see this lady dentist and when she saw how stressed I was she gave me a prescription for Valium and told me to come back in a week and so I did. She turned out to be really sympathetic and gentle. She never said anything that would make me feel bad or ashamed- and I think that's the reason I kept seeing her many times that year to get everything done. I am still very tense and freaked out when I go to see her, even having taken Valium, but knowing that she is not judging me and makes me feel safe helps me to make an appointment and turn up for it. So my point is the most important thing in this process is a good dentist who understands that you are scared and will help you see that it's not as scary as it seems. I still have 2 of my wisdom teeth to be extracted and it literally makes me sick just to think about it but I will do it over the winter break hopefully.

It's important to know the truth and what is needed to be done because that's the starting point.. but if you don't like the way this dentist makes you feel, I would try a different one. I have never been put to sleep during the procedure so I don't really know what it involves but maybe it doesn't matter so much then... For me it was important to build up trust with the dentist. When I started my 'dentist experience' my dentist begun with the smallest fillings and then progressively we got to the more serious stuff like wisdom teeth extraction. Now I trust her enough to let her do whatever needs to be done, although I am still so scared and my hands sweat just from thinking about it.

For me the most difficult part was to make the first step, it got easier later on. You have done your first step so well done Keep going, it's worth it.

 

[TerrifiedWoman]

Hi Clare. Welcome to the forum. You will find a LOT of support here from people who know exactly how you feel.
I've had three appointments at the dentist this month..which is more than I've had in my entire life!!! (And I am 56!) I can tell you that if you are able to find a dentist you are comfortable with, it does get easier. I'm still anxious, but no longer terrified.
My best piece of advice is..even though you hate it..please go. Your parents are right that it only gets worse. I learned that the hard way..and now I am facing full extraction and upper and lower dentures. I lose all my natural teeth on July 7th. While I look forward to finally having a smile I can be proud of (I haven't really smiled in years) ..I morn the loss of all my real teeth. I truly regret that I didn't face my fears YEARS ago so that I could have gotten the dental work I needed before it was too late. Please don't make my mistake.

 

[haggis for the soul]

Clare, I've just started going back to the dentist after about 25 years of no dental care. Believe me, it would have been so much easier to deal with my teeth while they could still have been treated by fillings than now where I have lost many teeth and have had to get several crowns.

Everyone here is in your corner. We know how tough it is to deal with a dental phobia, and we are all here when you need us. Good luck to you.

 

[clarex]

Reading your replys makes me have tears of fear .... all of you have the same feelings that i have when going ... even reading your support does help but the easy door of not doing anything seems to be better .... i dnt have a clue what door to go down at all .... i dnt smile at all when i do its not showing my teeth!!!
i am 19 this month seeing that we have just gone into june .... i dnt live the life of a 18 year old as i dnt have that confidence and i do think this is because of my teeth... tbh i would say my life is boring if i go to the dentist its another 2 years or more like this with braces seeing that he has said this is the best rote to go down .... i wil be 21 and i just think do i really want this fair enough i have the rest of my life.... in total honesty i have issues as well i find life so hard there is just always an obstical you have to pass to get to the other and this obstical i dnt want to as i really dont think i could do it .... my mum and dad i think they have had enough of this now really they cant make me do it ... i have a lump in my throte yet i am no where near a dentist its just so hard :/ .... i do wish i could sort this fear out but some how i do find it impossible :/
sorry to just be so down bt this is how it is with me with this subject
claire
thanks again
xxx

 

[amanda]

Go for it! If you've got the chance to get the work done please do it. The time will go so quick and at the end you'll have such a pretty smile. And feel proud of yourself for getting through something you didn't want to do. Imagine having that to look forward to? If you do nothing - well - you'll probably still feel just like you feel now...

You'll get all the support you need around here.