N
Nolongerscared
Junior member
- Joined
- Sep 9, 2011
- Messages
- 8
Hi everyone! I have browsed this site as an unregistered user many times in the last few years. Let me try to give the shortest version of my story.
My mom took me to the dentist I think two times as a child. The dentist, as I remember him-was a really mean old man and I hated him. I remember that my mom wasn't even allowed back with us when we were being seen. anyways, after going twice-she never took us back and so there begins my phobia of the dentist. I was probably no older than 8 then and here I am, 29 years old today. I have always felt my smile has held me back. Once I got married, it took me a few years to even sign up for the dental plan through my husbands insurance. I couldn't even talk about teeth, dentists, etc without that horrible anxious feeling. My friend's husband has even made comments about my teeth before that I know he probably didn't mean as hurtful but they were very much so. I just have never really told anyone about my fear and how long it's been since I have went to a dentist.
When our son turned four, my husband and I took him to the dentist for the first time for a dental screening required by his pre-k school. They only looked around in there, nothing major really happened and that was that. Fast forward, he's now 7 years old and I had made the promise to myself that I would take him over the summer before school started. That didn't happen and school started a couple of weeks ago. I researched endlessly online about dentists in the area we are in, dental issues, and everything else. I finally found a dentist just 10 minutes away from me that uses the Waterlase technology. I don't want my son to have the same fears of the dentist that i had, so the Waterlase really excited me. We took him last week, again my husband was able to come along with so that helped. He had a good cleaning and the dentist said he needed three cavities filled and one sealant. not bad for a three year absence. So we made the appointment for that to be done on Monday. The dentist said that they would be able to use the Waterlase laser to fill the cavities which would mean no shots and no discomfort to him. We took him back to have the work done on Monday and I am not even kidding when I say that they did the work in 10 minutes! My little guy didn't even cry and as soon as they were finished, he was ready to go eat lunch. He said he didn't feel anything strange. This was amazing to me. I only remember being so sore and crying all the way home after having a cavity filled as a child. The ladies at the front desk were so impressed with how well our son did and that he got all of the cavities filled in one sitting. I have no shame in admitting that I did somewhat use my 7 year old as a guinea pig to get me into that dental chair. I figured if he could do it and be so brave, then what was my excuse?
So when I had made his first appointment, I made one for myself as well. Halfway figuring I would cancel. I asked how the dentists were with the more "anxious" patients but didn't really elaborate as to the extent of my fears or the duration of my absence from the dentist chair. At my sons monday appointment, I went ahead and picked up my paperwork since my appointment was first thing the next morning. When I arrived the next morning for my appointment, they addressed me by name and were so nice. Despite my extreme anxiety, I went alone because I was too embarrassed to have to admit my 20 year absence to any of my friends and ask someone to go with me. I didn't even ask my husband to go. So I was all alone. I had all these plans in mind that I was going to make sure I stayed in control. I would ask to start off with something small, heck we have 8 years of cheap dental insurance left, so I'd just have to space all the work out over the next 8 years since our dental only covers $1200 a year. (my husband is in the military so we are fortunate enough to have pretty decent benefits)
First they did my vitals and I was surprised my BP wasn't shooting through the roof. Then x rays. I had watched my son have his done so I knew what to expect. The girl who did them was very nice and understanding when I started to gag lol. Then it was a short wait back in the waiting room. My gums bleed alot so I was really thinking the worst in terms of periodontal disease and stuff. I figured they wouldn't even be able to do a regular cleaning on me and would want to schedule a deep cleaning. I went in expecting the absolute worst. Root canals, deep cleanings, extractions, all hope lost.
My hygentist ended up being one of the men who worked there. I don't know why but I actually felt better about this than if I had one of the females. He had me get up in the chair and said "okay, we're going to start your cleaning now".
And there was ALOT to be cleaned, let me tell you. The tartar and plaque build up was so horrible but after 20 years and poor dental hygiene, I was expecting that. I actually had it building up on the outside of my teeth as well which was horribly embarrassing. I didn't realize at the time that's what it was, i thought it was a sign of bad gum disease or something. Anyways he really went to work with that cleaning. It wasn't too uncomfortable at all but once he got in those spots where the tartar was on the outside of tooth, it didn't feel the best and he asked me if I wanted a little numbing gel. I said yes and that helped a ton. He kept telling me how great I was doing. Once he finished, he asked me just once why I waited so long to go to the dentist (not in a judgmental way though) and I just told him that I had a huge fear. I didn't mention that it had been 20 years though. he told me that I did amazing and I said "well I am sure the worst is yet to come". right after he had finished the cleaning, I felt something right on my lip so I reached up to get it, and ewwww! It was a huge chunk of tartar he had scaled off and I had blood on my fingers. Gross! The backs of my bottom front teeth were caked with tartar. When he was finished, I ran my tongue across the back of my teeth and it felt weird! I was used to it being smooth from all of the tartar and the bumpiness of being able to feel every individual tooth was weird to me. But it's weird in a good way.
So the dentist comes in and it was the same one who took care of my son the day before. He looks to be all of 18 years old. He looks over my x rays, starts poking around in my mouth and I think "here it comes.....root canals, extractions, dentures before I am 30, selling my soul to pay for the dental treatment that I am going to need". He said "Looks good, no cavities but I am going to prescribe you a rinse to use that will help with the bleeding gums".
I almost started crying right then and there. Then I wanted to call him a liar lol. I mean 20 years!!!!!! I couldn't believe it. I still don't believe it! I haven't always taken the best care of my teeth, never flossed as a kid, and was convinced that I would be paying for all of my dental sins on Tuesday. He didn't even mention anything about wisdom teeth so maybe I will be one of those lucky ones that never has any problems.
I walked out of the office smiling but still on the verge of tears b/c 20 years of sheer panic and fear had just came to an end. I have to go back in two weeks so they can see how the Peridex rinse is working for me, but already I have noticed the bleeding is so much less so hopefully it's an uneventful appointment.
I am even considering looking into braces or invisalign since I have a significant gap in my front and bottom teeth. The bottom is even more pronounceable now with all of the tartar gone that was there before. But I do feel so much better now. I wish I had taken a before pic. I was amazed at the job the hygienist did with my cleaning alone. All of the tartar that was on the outside of my teeth, visible to anyone if I was smiling, is now GONE! The backs of my teeth are tartar free and look great! I called my sister, who has the same fear that I have for all of the same reasons and she too hasn't been since we were kids. I told her that I finally did it and I hope maybe that will help her to take the plunge and go soon.
we are due to move across the country soon (we're in the US), and I am already searching for a dentist in the area we will be in that also uses the laser technology like the one here. It's amazing how far dental work has came since I was a child. My husband said he was so jealous of the dental care that our son and I get. He loved the office with the TV's and movies playing, the equipment, decorated ceilings, and was really impressed with how they were able to fill our son's cavities without a drill or any shots. He swears that Army dental, that it's really a cook or mechanic working on his mouth and not a real dentist. He said going to the army dentist, you have a crappy partition between you and the next guy and the next guy over might be getting a root canal. Ick!
So that's my story. I'm sure it's not complete. I am still not at the point where I am happy with my smile and that's my next step...getting to the point where I can smile confidently and not feel so self conscience when I do it.
My mom took me to the dentist I think two times as a child. The dentist, as I remember him-was a really mean old man and I hated him. I remember that my mom wasn't even allowed back with us when we were being seen. anyways, after going twice-she never took us back and so there begins my phobia of the dentist. I was probably no older than 8 then and here I am, 29 years old today. I have always felt my smile has held me back. Once I got married, it took me a few years to even sign up for the dental plan through my husbands insurance. I couldn't even talk about teeth, dentists, etc without that horrible anxious feeling. My friend's husband has even made comments about my teeth before that I know he probably didn't mean as hurtful but they were very much so. I just have never really told anyone about my fear and how long it's been since I have went to a dentist.
When our son turned four, my husband and I took him to the dentist for the first time for a dental screening required by his pre-k school. They only looked around in there, nothing major really happened and that was that. Fast forward, he's now 7 years old and I had made the promise to myself that I would take him over the summer before school started. That didn't happen and school started a couple of weeks ago. I researched endlessly online about dentists in the area we are in, dental issues, and everything else. I finally found a dentist just 10 minutes away from me that uses the Waterlase technology. I don't want my son to have the same fears of the dentist that i had, so the Waterlase really excited me. We took him last week, again my husband was able to come along with so that helped. He had a good cleaning and the dentist said he needed three cavities filled and one sealant. not bad for a three year absence. So we made the appointment for that to be done on Monday. The dentist said that they would be able to use the Waterlase laser to fill the cavities which would mean no shots and no discomfort to him. We took him back to have the work done on Monday and I am not even kidding when I say that they did the work in 10 minutes! My little guy didn't even cry and as soon as they were finished, he was ready to go eat lunch. He said he didn't feel anything strange. This was amazing to me. I only remember being so sore and crying all the way home after having a cavity filled as a child. The ladies at the front desk were so impressed with how well our son did and that he got all of the cavities filled in one sitting. I have no shame in admitting that I did somewhat use my 7 year old as a guinea pig to get me into that dental chair. I figured if he could do it and be so brave, then what was my excuse?
So when I had made his first appointment, I made one for myself as well. Halfway figuring I would cancel. I asked how the dentists were with the more "anxious" patients but didn't really elaborate as to the extent of my fears or the duration of my absence from the dentist chair. At my sons monday appointment, I went ahead and picked up my paperwork since my appointment was first thing the next morning. When I arrived the next morning for my appointment, they addressed me by name and were so nice. Despite my extreme anxiety, I went alone because I was too embarrassed to have to admit my 20 year absence to any of my friends and ask someone to go with me. I didn't even ask my husband to go. So I was all alone. I had all these plans in mind that I was going to make sure I stayed in control. I would ask to start off with something small, heck we have 8 years of cheap dental insurance left, so I'd just have to space all the work out over the next 8 years since our dental only covers $1200 a year. (my husband is in the military so we are fortunate enough to have pretty decent benefits)
First they did my vitals and I was surprised my BP wasn't shooting through the roof. Then x rays. I had watched my son have his done so I knew what to expect. The girl who did them was very nice and understanding when I started to gag lol. Then it was a short wait back in the waiting room. My gums bleed alot so I was really thinking the worst in terms of periodontal disease and stuff. I figured they wouldn't even be able to do a regular cleaning on me and would want to schedule a deep cleaning. I went in expecting the absolute worst. Root canals, deep cleanings, extractions, all hope lost.
My hygentist ended up being one of the men who worked there. I don't know why but I actually felt better about this than if I had one of the females. He had me get up in the chair and said "okay, we're going to start your cleaning now".
And there was ALOT to be cleaned, let me tell you. The tartar and plaque build up was so horrible but after 20 years and poor dental hygiene, I was expecting that. I actually had it building up on the outside of my teeth as well which was horribly embarrassing. I didn't realize at the time that's what it was, i thought it was a sign of bad gum disease or something. Anyways he really went to work with that cleaning. It wasn't too uncomfortable at all but once he got in those spots where the tartar was on the outside of tooth, it didn't feel the best and he asked me if I wanted a little numbing gel. I said yes and that helped a ton. He kept telling me how great I was doing. Once he finished, he asked me just once why I waited so long to go to the dentist (not in a judgmental way though) and I just told him that I had a huge fear. I didn't mention that it had been 20 years though. he told me that I did amazing and I said "well I am sure the worst is yet to come". right after he had finished the cleaning, I felt something right on my lip so I reached up to get it, and ewwww! It was a huge chunk of tartar he had scaled off and I had blood on my fingers. Gross! The backs of my bottom front teeth were caked with tartar. When he was finished, I ran my tongue across the back of my teeth and it felt weird! I was used to it being smooth from all of the tartar and the bumpiness of being able to feel every individual tooth was weird to me. But it's weird in a good way. So the dentist comes in and it was the same one who took care of my son the day before. He looks to be all of 18 years old. He looks over my x rays, starts poking around in my mouth and I think "here it comes.....root canals, extractions, dentures before I am 30, selling my soul to pay for the dental treatment that I am going to need". He said "Looks good, no cavities but I am going to prescribe you a rinse to use that will help with the bleeding gums".
I almost started crying right then and there. Then I wanted to call him a liar lol. I mean 20 years!!!!!! I couldn't believe it. I still don't believe it! I haven't always taken the best care of my teeth, never flossed as a kid, and was convinced that I would be paying for all of my dental sins on Tuesday. He didn't even mention anything about wisdom teeth so maybe I will be one of those lucky ones that never has any problems.
I walked out of the office smiling but still on the verge of tears b/c 20 years of sheer panic and fear had just came to an end. I have to go back in two weeks so they can see how the Peridex rinse is working for me, but already I have noticed the bleeding is so much less so hopefully it's an uneventful appointment.
I am even considering looking into braces or invisalign since I have a significant gap in my front and bottom teeth. The bottom is even more pronounceable now with all of the tartar gone that was there before. But I do feel so much better now. I wish I had taken a before pic. I was amazed at the job the hygienist did with my cleaning alone. All of the tartar that was on the outside of my teeth, visible to anyone if I was smiling, is now GONE! The backs of my teeth are tartar free and look great! I called my sister, who has the same fear that I have for all of the same reasons and she too hasn't been since we were kids. I told her that I finally did it and I hope maybe that will help her to take the plunge and go soon.
we are due to move across the country soon (we're in the US), and I am already searching for a dentist in the area we will be in that also uses the laser technology like the one here. It's amazing how far dental work has came since I was a child. My husband said he was so jealous of the dental care that our son and I get. He loved the office with the TV's and movies playing, the equipment, decorated ceilings, and was really impressed with how they were able to fill our son's cavities without a drill or any shots. He swears that Army dental, that it's really a cook or mechanic working on his mouth and not a real dentist. He said going to the army dentist, you have a crappy partition between you and the next guy and the next guy over might be getting a root canal. Ick!
So that's my story. I'm sure it's not complete. I am still not at the point where I am happy with my smile and that's my next step...getting to the point where I can smile confidently and not feel so self conscience when I do it.
