kitkat
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Re: Less than 4 days til I go for the first time in years.... really nervous, please read and reply
A lot of people report feeling vulnerable with lying back including myself. Not sure why that is...I think it is primitively just a vulnerable position. Then, to add insult to injury someone putting their hands in your mouth greatly reduces your ability to communicate and can create a sense of suffocation and claustrophobia. Also, lying down you can't really see what's going on around you...making you more vulnerable. The whole set-up really sucks!
A lot dentists know to verbally remind you to breathe through your nose. I have only had 1 experience with laughing gas and hardly remember it but I've heard great things!
I'm not entirely sure why I feel this way, but I think it has something to do with trust mostly (Trusting some random stranger who I've never met before to touch my mouth sounds a bit sketchy) and the fact that said stranger is invading my personal space. It's uncomfortable to me to have someone that close to my face. Also, I feel very vulnerable while lying down and don't like lying down while a complete stranger puts their hands in my mouth! Not sure why lying down makes me feel so panicked and like I have no control... maybe it has something to do with some sort of animal instinct about getting attacked while lying down and sleeping? I remember when I went to my old orthodontist, they would keep me waiting forever lying down while they ran off to do something else and I always ended up sitting up in the chair because it freaked me out so much.
A lot of people report feeling vulnerable with lying back including myself. Not sure why that is...I think it is primitively just a vulnerable position. Then, to add insult to injury someone putting their hands in your mouth greatly reduces your ability to communicate and can create a sense of suffocation and claustrophobia. Also, lying down you can't really see what's going on around you...making you more vulnerable. The whole set-up really sucks!
Hopefully while I'm in panic mode, I'll remember to breathe through my nose! Probably will since breathing through my nose helps me calm down anyway. And yay drugs If they don't remember to give the laughing gas to me, I might be able to work up the courage to ask, but not sure if I'll have the balls to do that yet! I did include in my (3 page long) list of worries\concerns\questions\suggestions that I'll bring to my appointment before I even sit in that chair, that I feel like sedation would help me a lot, so if they didn't remember maybe they'll give it to me anyway!
A lot dentists know to verbally remind you to breathe through your nose. I have only had 1 experience with laughing gas and hardly remember it but I've heard great things!