In need of a dentist.... Put off by bad experiences :(

[Paul29]

Hey all.

I have always hated dentists like many here. I think my fear must of come from having horrible dentists as a kid. Perhaps they are all like that? The ones I saw back then were rude and horrible. A few times as a 7 or 8 year old I was left in tears by a horrible and quite blunt dentist.

Through my early and late teens the fear of dentist's was still there. I had an unfortunate experience with a money grabbing dentist at the age of 19 who lead me to believe I was not entitled to have any more appointments on the NHS. I was earning little over £200 a month at that point and was given 2 options by him..... go private or pay a monthly fee for this dental plan. Both options were not affordable and I was given no other option's...

4-5 years later I had a decaying wisdom tooth. I plucked up the courage somehow to go to an emergency clinic. They turned me away though claiming it is not bad enough to be classed as an emergency. 6 months later it had decayed more, I was in complete agony. They saw me, extracted the tooth and my hands were shaking throughout. I hated the entire process.

My other teeth have been getting worse now. Only recently was I talking to someone who previously worked in a dental surgery. I told them about the dentist who said I wasn't entitled to any more appointments on the NHS.... They told me it's a load of rubbish and he was simply trying to force me into paying extra.


So now, at age 29 I have serious problems and no dentist.... I'm way too nervous to get them sorted and suffer with social anxiety.

1 wisdom tooth is badly decayed and only 1/3rd of it remains. 1 molar has broken in half (there was a crack on it. Even though it has stopped cracking, its like the top half of the tooth has cracked off). Another molar has a small round hole in it at the front (close to the gumline) and a 3rd molar is in need of a filling I believe (can feel the hole in the top of the tooth and it feels sensitive).

I guess this could all be fixed at an emergency dental clinic? However i'm already nervous and from my experience, dentist's don't care and I fear they will try and make me feel bad about the situation and like it's my fault

Thanks

 

[Mugz]

Hi and Welcome!

I'm so sorry you are in the middle of a dental dilemma right now but you have certainly come to the right place as I hope you can tell. Lots of us have suffered physical and verbal abuse by dentists as children that has made it increasingly difficult for us to get regular dental care or seek help when we need it. Especially in an emergency.

I know others will chime in and share their stories but one common thread you'll read again and again is that dentists now make it a point to avoid lectures and scolding and placing blame. From what I can tell the focus has shifted to positive reinforcement, just being happy you are making the effort to get the treatment you need now. Guilt is a wasted emotion, or so I hear. What's done is done and the most productive thing for you to do now is move forward and do what you can to take care of the teeth you have.

Often times things aren't as bad as we fear they will be. The anticipation can be worse than the actual appointment! The trick is to find a dentist you feel somewhat comfortable with. This site has many people willing to help you find one - even ones with sedation which can be a huge help when you need it.

You should be proud that you are making the first step. Just coming here and sharing your story is huge. The rest will come...a little at a time.

 

[Paul29]

Thanks for the reply.

Sorry to hear you have a dilemma yourself to go through.

There's some great words there which are helping me.

I feel now that I have to just continue to try and finally get the necessary treatment over and done with. It's almost essential that I have things done in the next month.

If not it means avoiding any food that will get stuck in my teeth or perhaps make the problem worse


thanks again

 

[Spike 1969]

Hello and To the forum.

it sounds like your experience of the "old style" brand of dentistry is similar to many folks here, you are certainly amongst friends. The dental phobia experience is very very real that's for sure most of us will agree with that.

the good news is that dentistry has moved on and is light years away from the bad old days, there are still a few bad dentists but they are very much in the minority nowadays as the "customer" is more in charge. You will find most dentists are the caring, sympathetic and non-judgmental kind these days.

it would be worth checking if you have any NHS dentists in your area that are taking on patients. The dentist finder here is helpful as is the NHS Choices website (search under dentist finder and you should be able to locate a search function by area or postcode, there are also reviews on there that are very helpful for your initial search). Once you have narrowed down your search it's a matter of emailing the places with your fears/questions to see how they respond to help make your decision if you feel you are ready to take the next step.

hope you manage to find a dentist that you can get on with and trust, it's really worth searching as a good dentist and your relationship with them can make all the difference to the whole dental "journey"

Kind Regards

 

[Paul29]

Sorry for not posting for a while everyone. Had a bit of a break out of town. Now i'm back and it needs sorting.

Thanks very much for the reply Spike. I have been doing quite a bit of research and indeed it does seem like things about bad dentists have long gone.

I had a look at the local NHS/emergency dental clinic and they have nothing but good reviews (People with fears and nervous people who had a good experience and were treated well.

I was planning on going next week due to everything with the bank holiday this weekend. However, just at the wrong time my bad wisdom tooth has gone to the point of no return where the pain is constant.

Tomorrow the dental place is only open for 2 hours so if I can't get an appointment tomorrow I will go on Tuesday. Will post again saying how it all went. What's for sure is I am going to be a nervous wreck from start to finish.

I do have 1 more question though.... According to the NHS page it says it would cost me £49 for the treatment I need, however I am in receipt of income support so I should get it for free.

The problem is being able to prove this. The confirmation forms were thrown out ages ago as I have been on it for 2 years, it's too late to ask for copies to be sent and all I can provide is a print off of my most recent downloaded bank statements that show "IS" is paid into my account... Will that be enough?

Thanks

 

[Spike 1969]

Hi Paul

Good to see you are getting somewhere with regard to sorting your dental situation.

I'm not sure about proof for exemptions, hopefully the following might help though:

Who can get free NHS dental treatment or help with dental costs

Find out who can get free NHS dental appointments and treatments, or help with the cost of dental care.

www.nhs.uk

If in doubt ask the staff at the dental practice for advice, it should be free in your case I believe.

Kind Regards

 

[Paul29]

Thanks for the link. Had a quick read and it claims a HC1 certificate (Low earnings) would be accepted but people on income support cannot apply for 1 as income support already means they don't have to pay.

Seem's they expect written proof but I guess I will just have to ask them when making an appointment. Worst case is I pay the full amount when I go, ask for a receipt, get the proof that I am on income support and claim the money back after.

 

[Paul29]

Gutting that I phoned today to book an appointment.... None available as they were booked up.

Felt really difficult because I know I don't want to go, so then it's worse when I make the effort and don't get an appointment.

I'm busy now until next week so it seems like I will have to wait another week for an appointment. Will still update the thread to say how it went.

 

[Spike 1969]

Hi Paul

well done for starting the ball rolling, hope you get sorted very soon.

Did you manage to make an appointment to suit your availability?

kind Regards

 

[Ihatedentistss]

Hi Paul,

Half the battle is finding the right dentist. Have you successfully booked an appointment yet and started getting the treatment you need? Just hang in there, it will get better once you start getting the work done. I know it's not fun, as I have many days in the chair ahead of me as well, but the end result will be worth it so just always try to keep that in mind. That's what has been propelling me forward

 

[Paul29]

Thanks both and sorry once again for the late reply. There was not much to report.

yeah I do think that is the key for me. What I do have on my side is pain.... When we are in pain, we don't care, dealing with anxiety becomes a second priority and (un)fortunately tooth ache is 1 of the worst types of pain there is. Regardless, since being a part of the forum i'm thinking like you a bit more. Instead of seeing treatment as an unwanted punishment, it's becoming something that makes my life better.

Still can you believe it, im waiting for an appointment. Since the last post I phoned the only emergency dental place on 5 different days as soon as they opened, each day the phone rang for ages, they finally answered to say all appointments for the day were taken :/

Thankfully a family friend who lives in another town has a friend who works on reception of an emergency dental surgery, she has seen how bad the pain is and is doing her best to get me in there.

Still on the painkillers daily. Hopefully my next post will say I have had treatment and it wasnt as bad as I assumed.

 

[Mugz]

Wow! I'm so sorry to hear you are still just waiting to get an appointment. How terribly frustrating that must be!! I'm glad you have some meds to help with the pain while you wait but that can add to your problems in some ways too. Hopefully your friend will be able to pull some strings and finally get you seen. Your wait has been unbelievable! Fingers crossed your next post is that you've been seen and are feeling some relief SOON.
Hang in there!!!

 

[Paul29]

Finally.... it's been done.

They were all polite and helpful. I was still incredibly nervous though as expected.

The cracked tooth it somewhat ok... he mentioned inflamed gums. He said as long as there's no pain in the cracked tooth its fine. However if it did start being painful I would need root canal surgery or extraction.

He didnt say anything about my other teeth but the wisdom tooth went.

A bit uncomfortable during the anaesthetic injections, then 2 tools were used to extract the tooth... Heavy force on my face, crunching, pulling... but not that bad.

Yeah it wasnt as bad as I thought, nowhere near but my nerves still got the better of me

 

[Spike 1969]

Hi Paul

For getting it sorted.

Hopefully you will be feeling more comfortable now the source of the pain is not there any longer.

kind Regards

 

[Mugz]

YaY YoU !!
Way to hang in there and get 'er done.
Hope you are feeling relieved that it is over and your recovery is speedy, comfortable and uncomplicated.
Thanks for letting us know.