O
Ofba4
Junior member
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2025
- Messages
- 1
- Location
- US
I just found this website and feel so seen just by reading some of these messages. I am 36 and have had severe dental anxiety for as long as I can remember. I grew up in a very rural area drinking well water without fluoride which some dentists have mentioned as contributing factor to my weak enamel. My problems could possibly be bad genetics as both my sisters have similar issues to me, or maybe just poor guidance from our parents when it came to oral hygiene. I’m very prone to cavities. It doesn’t seem to matter what I do, they happen. I brush my teeth 2-3 times a day using high flouride tooth paste, floss every single night, use a water pik a few nights a week. I have had two babies in the last three years and I honestly think that it has made things worse with my teeth.
I have spent the last 10 years avoiding the dentist as much as possible… I’d see my childhood dentist while visiting my parents once a year for a cleaning and check up. I’d ignore “watch spots” and celebrate that they didn’t need to fill anything. I knew I had a food trap which the dentist tried and failed to fix once. I just couldn’t bring myself to find a dentist in the city I live in (literally across the country from the childhood dentist I would occasionally see). After 10 years my husband made me go see his dentist.. he suggested replacing some fillings, addressing the food trap, that I had many small cavities / watch spots. I couldn’t bring myself to do any of it. I did start going for cleanings every 3 months, however 6 months later this dentist told me I had external resorption in a 2nd molar and I’d lose my tooth eventually and there was nothing I could do. It was my greatest fear but I loved that I could just ignore it. I had no pain. I would deal with it in 10 years.
I then saw a second highly recommended dentist (from a Myofunctional therapist) to do an Invisalign / night guard consult because I am grinding my teeth so badly. He immediately told me I needed to see an endodontist about the external resorption and that I had 12 cavities of varying degrees that really needed to be addressed. I can’t get a night guard or Invisalign until I address these other issues. He was able to fill three small cavities with a laser treatment / no numbing needed and I had no pain which eased my anxiety a little. He is an extremely kind and patient dentist who works with many people suffering from anxiety. His goal is to help me ease into getting work done at whatever pace I can manage and over explains everything to give me a sense of control.
The Endo recommended a surgical filling and root canal to save my tooth… I am terrified. This will then require two crowns to protect that tooth and close the food trap with the molar next to it. This is my worse nightmare. I am scheduled to have the 2.5 hour procedure with the endo this Thursday and they recommended .5 mg halcion. I tried taking one 2.5 mg of halcion at home to see if that was enough (Endo asked me to do this). I did feel less anxious in general but panicked every time I thought about the upcoming procedure so I think I need the higher dose. I then have 3 more long follow up visits with the dentist to do crown prep, place the crowns, and complete the 9 other fillings. I don’t know how I am going to get through this and feel so terrible that I neglected my teeth for so long out of anxiety. I have two toddlers and no time to deal with any of this! The amount of anxiety I feel just trying to schedule these appointments is insane. I just want everything to be done so I can move on with my life and stop feeling so panicked.
I have spent the last 10 years avoiding the dentist as much as possible… I’d see my childhood dentist while visiting my parents once a year for a cleaning and check up. I’d ignore “watch spots” and celebrate that they didn’t need to fill anything. I knew I had a food trap which the dentist tried and failed to fix once. I just couldn’t bring myself to find a dentist in the city I live in (literally across the country from the childhood dentist I would occasionally see). After 10 years my husband made me go see his dentist.. he suggested replacing some fillings, addressing the food trap, that I had many small cavities / watch spots. I couldn’t bring myself to do any of it. I did start going for cleanings every 3 months, however 6 months later this dentist told me I had external resorption in a 2nd molar and I’d lose my tooth eventually and there was nothing I could do. It was my greatest fear but I loved that I could just ignore it. I had no pain. I would deal with it in 10 years.
I then saw a second highly recommended dentist (from a Myofunctional therapist) to do an Invisalign / night guard consult because I am grinding my teeth so badly. He immediately told me I needed to see an endodontist about the external resorption and that I had 12 cavities of varying degrees that really needed to be addressed. I can’t get a night guard or Invisalign until I address these other issues. He was able to fill three small cavities with a laser treatment / no numbing needed and I had no pain which eased my anxiety a little. He is an extremely kind and patient dentist who works with many people suffering from anxiety. His goal is to help me ease into getting work done at whatever pace I can manage and over explains everything to give me a sense of control.
The Endo recommended a surgical filling and root canal to save my tooth… I am terrified. This will then require two crowns to protect that tooth and close the food trap with the molar next to it. This is my worse nightmare. I am scheduled to have the 2.5 hour procedure with the endo this Thursday and they recommended .5 mg halcion. I tried taking one 2.5 mg of halcion at home to see if that was enough (Endo asked me to do this). I did feel less anxious in general but panicked every time I thought about the upcoming procedure so I think I need the higher dose. I then have 3 more long follow up visits with the dentist to do crown prep, place the crowns, and complete the 9 other fillings. I don’t know how I am going to get through this and feel so terrible that I neglected my teeth for so long out of anxiety. I have two toddlers and no time to deal with any of this! The amount of anxiety I feel just trying to schedule these appointments is insane. I just want everything to be done so I can move on with my life and stop feeling so panicked.
