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Last dental appointment tomorrow! Wish me luck...

Steve In Cleveland

Steve In Cleveland

Well-known member
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Joined
Apr 10, 2012
Messages
550
Location
Cleveland, OH (USA)
About 9 years ago, a piece of tooth #4 broke off, and I was afraid to go to the dentist to have it fixed. I hadn't been in a few years and was ashamed that my teeth were filthy. So I ignored it. Over the years it broke further and further, and now is just a tiny little stub way below the gumline. Many other teeth broke while I was avoiding the embarrassment of getting that one tooth. I was also terrified that a tooth without any visible crown couldn't be pulled without some terrible surgery.

Tomorrow, I come full circle. All my other teeth have been repaired and crowned, and #4 is being extracted tomorrow. (Actually, #30 is also being crowned tomorrow too.) I'll be excited to have the journey complete for now, but the inner panic voice is still chanting all kinds of scary concerns into my head. What if the gum has grown over? What if the remaining root tip get stuck or shattered or worse?

My dentist assures me it's so small it will come out with no issues at all, and the other extraction I had a super-easy. But we all know that reasoning with your phobia doesn't really help.

Wish me luck and send good thoughts and wishes my way, please! I'll post back when I'm done, but at the moment I'm a little oogy about the whole thing...

:scared::scared::scared::scared::terror:
 
Good luck and congratulations, steve!
 
I wish you tons of luck :clover::clover::clover::clover::clover::clover::clover::clover::clover::clover::clover::clover::clover::clover::clover::clover::clover::clover::clover::clover::clover::clover::clover::clover::clover::clover::clover::grouphug::grouphug::grouphug::hug5::hug5::hug4::friends::butterfly:
 
Good luck Steve! The end is in sight. I know that reasoning with fear doesn't always help, but remember that your dentist is the expert and if he/she says that such a small piece will be easy to get out, it's probably going to work out that way. You will make it to the other side of this.
 
good luck tomorrow, I am getting a wisdom tooth out on Sat. and am also abit stressed, just try to do deep breaths and think good, happy thoughts and you will get through it.
 
Good luck Steve! You have really come such a long way! I hope that you are proud of yourself and treat yourself to something nice after your appointment to celebrate! You deserve it!
 
Lots of luck for your appointment Steve... although I'm sure you'll be absolutely fine. If your dentist thinks it won't be a problem, then it probably won't be; they usually do have a fairly good idea about how things are likely to go. I'm looking forward to reading your post about how easy it was, when you get back from your appointment. :)

I agree with kitkat - definitely treat yourself to something nice after your appointment. I do this - it's what keeps me going through all the treatment. In my case, it's a sort of Apple reward scheme because all my treats tend to come from the Apple store! The bigger the treatment or procedure, the bigger the treat... I haven't decided what I'm going to get once I've got all four root canals and crowns finished :p!

Good luck!

:clover::clover::clover::clover::clover::clover::clover:
 
In my case, it's a sort of Apple reward scheme because all my treats tend to come from the Apple store! The bigger the treatment or procedure, the bigger the treat...

27-inch iMac :grin:

Best of luck with your appointment today Steve :grouphug: !!!
 
Nice, well maybe if you are good this year and ask Santa really nicely, :Santa: you never know :butterfly:
 
Steve,
I hope it went well for you today!!
Congratulations on completing your treatment!!!
As an old cigarette commercial used to say "You've come a LONG way"
I agree with everyone...............you definitely should get yourself a little something to celebrate!!!!!!!!! I'm the same way as vicki and kitkat..................every time I have a dental appointment I treat myself to a little something.
Great job, :yayy: :jump: :wow: :claps::bounces: :thumbsup:.
 
Thanks my friends, you guys rock! Your words of encouragement definitely helped. Although my phobia is mostly "controlled" these days, I still have to psych myself up, and I still tense all my muscles and sweat my palms right through my pants legs. (Er, "trousers" for you UK folks!)

The extraction went a little rough, frankly-- I seem to have an endless tolerance for lidocaine, and sometimes can never get fully numb. But it was nothing like as bad as I imagined all these years... and now it's done!!!

The lidocaine has worn off and the high powered pain meds are doing their job, and I'm slurping applesauce and ice cream for dinner. :)

Aside from being all numbed up and drooling when it was over, it was kind of an emotional visit for me, with my dentist and assistant telling me how proud they were of me and how much better my mouth looks now. I gave each of them a big hug and promised to keep in touch-- every six months.

Not sure what I'll get myself for a "graduation" present... and iMac sounds expensive, but after all it's not that much more than one more crown! Hmm, decisions, decisions...

(On a sad note, as I was paying my final bill, there was a guy in the lobby trying to come up with a way to pay for whatever treatment he needed. Apparently his insurance had fallen through or something. It made me very sad and embarrassed for him. I wish money didn't have to be a barrier to good health. Sigh.)

Anyway, here's for me, and also for everyone here who's helped along the way: :dance2::dance::dance2::dance::dance2::dance::dance2::dance::dance2::dance: :dance2::dance::dance2::dance::dance2::dance::dance2::dance::dance2::dance: :dance2::dance::dance2::dance::dance2::dance::dance2::dance::dance2::dance: :dance2::dance::dance2::dance::dance2::dance::dance2::dance::dance2::dance: :dance2::dance::dance2::dance::dance2::dance::dance2::dance::dance2::dance: :dance2::dance::dance2::dance::dance2::dance::dance2::dance::dance2::dance: :dance2::dance::dance2::dance::dance2::dance::dance2::dance::dance2::dance:
 
We in the UK know what pants are :ROFLMAO: Glad you have finally finished. You will be able to treat yourself to much bigger treats from now on after dental visits as the bill will be much cheaper. You are at the maintain stage now and not the full on war stage.

CONGRATULATIONS :jump::jump::jump::jump::jump::jump::jump::cheer::cheer::cheer::cheer::cheer::cheer::cheer::dance2::dance2::dance2::dance2::dance2::dance2::dance2::yayy::yayy::yayy::yayy::yayy::yayy::yayy::yayy::yayy::yayy::you-rock::you-rock::you-rock::welldone::welldone::welldone::butterfly:
 
That's fantastic news - CONGRATULATIONS :you-rock:!!! You're a real inspiration Steve :respect:.

:perfect: :wow::claps::wow::perfect:

(btw, that icecream dinner sounds rather delicious :drool: ... enjoy :)!!)
 
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