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I made the appointment, scared!!

  • Thread starter Thread starter miss_scared
  • Start date Start date
M

miss_scared

Member
Joined
Feb 20, 2014
Messages
40
Finally been brave and made the appointment. Explained my fear and this receptionist was actually so so lovely. She's said I can come up and see the dentist and if I can't face treatment there as they don't offer sedation other than for extractions then he will refer me on to the hospital. My appointment is 3rd September. She's put a note on saying I am phobic and said this dentist is a young guy and really lovely.

She's said he will do an examination but to be honest I am too scared to have that. My top 4 front teeth are loose and I am so scared of anyone touching them incase they fall out plus I hate the hook they poke in your teeth. Can I just say yes to the xray but not touching?

So hard as I have social phobia as well. I just don't know if I can do it :cry:
 
Hi miss_scared -

Well done for making the appointment! :jump: You're past the first hurdle, and that can be one of the hardest parts.

When you go for the appointment, remember that you are always in control, not the dentist. You have the right to say 'no' to any part of it, at any time, and they can only do anything with your consent. So, yes, absolutely, you can choose to have just the X-ray but no touching at this time. If they don't understand it or put undue pressure on you, then leave and find another dentist - dentists who are good with anxious patients should completely understand this though, and should let you progress at your own pace. The right dentist should be able to work with you and help you get to the stage where you feel comfortable letting them touch your teeth.

Always tell them how you are feeling, and what you're worried about, they may well be able to help. If you don't feel like you'll be able to do it on the day, write it down beforehand and if you're really stuck you can hand them a piece of paper!

I'm in the middle of a process of gradual desensitisation with my dentist right now, he started out by just doing the tiniest amount of stuff in one appointment - he just looked with a mirror and didn't poke at my teeth at all - then gradually we moved on to more bits of the checkup at subsequent appointments. We're about to move on to the drill soon (eep) but that's because I feel ready to and want to make progress, I'm entirely in control of the whole process and the pace we are moving at.
 
:yayy: Well done you!

As Tink rightly says, making that first appointment is a very big step :jump::respect::respect:

The important thing is to take things at your own pace, don't rush it, remember you are the customer and it's a partnership thing between yourself and the folks at the dentists, I like that as it makes me feel a lot more in control of things.

writing stuff down is also a thing I do as when I first get there everything I was going to ask goes out of the window.

well done for making a great start, with the right dentist I'm certain you will get to where you need to.

kind Regards
 
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