• Dental Phobia Support

    Welcome! This is an online support group for anyone who is has a severe fear of the dentist or dental treatment. Please note that this is NOT a general dental problems or health anxiety forum! You can find a list of them here.

    Register now to access all the features of the forum.

Lost Filling & New Dentist

R

robbiebee

Junior member
Joined
Feb 1, 2015
Messages
12
I moved down South 4 years ago and I kept my dentist up north as she is amazing and although I’m nervous of going to see her I’ve managed to overcome my fear.

I lost a filling the other day it has been in my tooth for years, I’m in no pain and it’s only a small filling and I’ve managed to put a temporary one in.

Unfortunately with work commitments I can’t go back up north to see my regular dentist.

I have managed to get an appointment with a local dentist, but on the call I was shaking with fear.

My appointment is next week, any tips on how to handle this would be greatly appreciated.
 
Perhaps just think of this appointment as a consultation. Then, you can hear what the new dentist suggests, and then get that work done in a few days/weeks by your old dentist. Or, if you like the new dentist, you could allow them to do it. And if the new dentist says that the fix is urgent, you will already be in the chair and can get it over with quickly.
 
What @LittleLynnie said :)

There's a great interview here which basically suggests to view the first appointment as a job interview - it's your chance to see if you'd like to hire this particular dentist for the job:


Well worth a read!

There's also a handy patient form in the Downloads section, which allows you to convey your fears to a new dentist:


Well done for making the appointment - fingers crossed that you'll find an amazing dentist close to your new home 🤞!
 
Would it be helpful not to go alone? Bringing a supportive friend or relative might make it better. My other tip would be to tell them you feel fearful and anxious at the appointment, maybe a different version of the tip you got about about filling out a form for nervous patients.
 
Had my appointment today and I was very anxious before going. I arrived about 10 minutes before my appointment and was shaking in the waiting room. The dental nurse came to get me and took me into the surgery and introduced me to the dentist. I sat down in the chair and made sure I had my stress ball with me. I explained my problem and the dentist had a look at my teeth, checked my gums and took x-rays.

Whilst we waited she asked me some questions about my health and we talked about my dental fear and she seemed very understanding and thought it was very normal. She then confirmed the only problem was the tooth with the filling that had come out. I have made an early morning appointment in a couple of weeks to get it sorted out.
 
Sounds like a really positive experience. I'm very happy for you.
 
Congratulations and thanks for the update, sounds like it went really well :). Great to hear that everything is good apart from having to replace the filling. All the best for your appointment!
 
@LittleLynnie Thank you I treated like an interview and I had done my homework by going on the dental practice website and viewing the dentist’s by profile. I didn’t take the form but I think it was apparent I was nervous as I had my stress ball.
 
@letsconnect thank you. After the appointment the receptionist offered me a sticker for being brave, I declined this time but could I have it after my next appointment when I have been very brave.
 
I’ve just been for my filling. It went okay and is all good.

The rain woke me up and I couldn’t get back to sleep, so I tossed and turned before getting up and making sure that I was busy.

My appointment was for 8:00am, I got there a few minutes early and as it is a large practice they were having a staff meeting. There were 2 other people waiting before me to go in. I went in and give my name and sat down. 3 more patients came in and it felt like lambs to the slaughter.

I was the 4th patient to be got from reception, I went into the treatment room and the 1st thing I saw was the large syringe on the side, I wanted to run away but I couldn’t, so I took my jacket off and sat in the chair. The dentist told me what she was going to do and the 1st thing was to numb me. I asked not to be numbed as I have had bad experiences of being numbed and needles. She said that we could try and to let her know if it was too painful at any time. To be honest I felt a little bit of pain whilst she was drilling probably about 2 on a scale of 1 to 10 and it didn’t last that long. She then put the filling in the tooth and smoothed it down which was the longest part.

So all done and I’ve got a dentist near to where I live.
 
@Kml1998 thank you it feels good not to find a cavity with my tongue, just a smooth tooth
 
Last edited:
Back
Top