• Dental Phobia Support

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My journey to total mouth restoration

Hey Anxious - got to catch up on your journey! The all on 6 from everything I've researched is better than the all on 4. If one happens to fail it will still function basically normal. Apparently with the all on 4 if 1 fails then you lose all your function.

I was awake during all my procedures aside of being numbed up. Although I don't like the sounds of the drills and tools I want to know what's going on lol! And aside of not reacting well to laughing gas I'm terrified of being put under. But all in all it was not a bad experience at all. There was more tenderness than pain.

Like you until I finally got mine loaded I couldn't stand looking in the mirror. I turned the spare bedroom into my personal hiding space. I got so sick of tasteless mushy food, but I lost 10lbs lol - so that was the bright side.

Once you are ready for the temp load you are going to be so thrilled! Food, food and more food! Almost anything you want you can eat! And everything tastes so much better. I did take my time with going from what I was eating and stepping it up to pork and steak and bread etc! And smiling! I definitely smile a lot more!

As you mentioned on my thread - definitely DO NOT settle for what you don't want. You're paying for them so make sure you get what you're paying for! Don't be afraid to TELL the dentist what you want. When it comes time for your wax try in take tons of pictures from every angle with all sorts of crazy and regular smiles. Anything they give you will thrill you because they are new and bright - but give yourself a week to really go thru them, make sure they offer enough lip support, if not put that on the list. If they seem too big or long, or flat and basic put that on the list. After staring at my pics for just a few days I realized they were a bit bucky and flat and basic run of the mill. I let her know I want the 2 front teeth more narrow and a tad longer then the teeth next to those. I wanted my eye teeth to have some sort of shape/point - I didn't like that it looked more like a molar. It took several try ins, pictures and tweeking before we got it right and I finally signed off on them. Most important DO NOT SIGN OFF ON THEM until you are 100% satisfied.

I actually got mine back today and instead of them being the actual set I signed off for it turned out to be a mix of two sets I was choosing between. Surprisingly they looked really good! I did have her shape the eye teeth a bit more and that took less than 5 min. So since they are cast she will give me 1 week to decide since technically the lab screwed up, but honestly - I really love them!

Keep us updated on how it goes! Keep thinking positive!! :grin:
 
Anxious76... I'm glad you pointed me to your journal... I can relate to a lot of what you've written.

The first 2 dentists sounded like fools... how dare they make any patient feel the way they made you feel... it's disgusting behavior! Good thing is you got the lucky 3rd! Sounds like he's one of the good guys :)

Good luck with the upcoming implant surgery, I'll be keeping an eye on your journal for the updates!!

Spanky
 
Hey Anxious - got to catch up on your journey! The all on 6 from everything I've researched is better than the all on 4. If one happens to fail it will still function basically normal. Apparently with the all on 4 if 1 fails then you lose all your function.

I was awake during all my procedures aside of being numbed up. Although I don't like the sounds of the drills and tools I want to know what's going on lol! And aside of not reacting well to laughing gas I'm terrified of being put under. But all in all it was not a bad experience at all. There was more tenderness than pain.

Like you until I finally got mine loaded I couldn't stand looking in the mirror. I turned the spare bedroom into my personal hiding space. I got so sick of tasteless mushy food, but I lost 10lbs lol - so that was the bright side.

Once you are ready for the temp load you are going to be so thrilled! Food, food and more food! Almost anything you want you can eat! And everything tastes so much better. I did take my time with going from what I was eating and stepping it up to pork and steak and bread etc! And smiling! I definitely smile a lot more!

As you mentioned on my thread - definitely DO NOT settle for what you don't want. You're paying for them so make sure you get what you're paying for! Don't be afraid to TELL the dentist what you want. When it comes time for your wax try in take tons of pictures from every angle with all sorts of crazy and regular smiles. Anything they give you will thrill you because they are new and bright - but give yourself a week to really go thru them, make sure they offer enough lip support, if not put that on the list. If they seem too big or long, or flat and basic put that on the list. After staring at my pics for just a few days I realized they were a bit bucky and flat and basic run of the mill. I let her know I want the 2 front teeth more narrow and a tad longer then the teeth next to those. I wanted my eye teeth to have some sort of shape/point - I didn't like that it looked more like a molar. It took several try ins, pictures and tweeking before we got it right and I finally signed off on them. Most important DO NOT SIGN OFF ON THEM until you are 100% satisfied.

I actually got mine back today and instead of them being the actual set I signed off for it turned out to be a mix of two sets I was choosing between. Surprisingly they looked really good! I did have her shape the eye teeth a bit more and that took less than 5 min. So since they are cast she will give me 1 week to decide since technically the lab screwed up, but honestly - I really love them!

Keep us updated on how it goes! Keep thinking positive!! :grin:

Thank you so very much for your response, support, and advice! I haven’t found too many people who are in my boat with the implant supported bridges, and it definitely feels better to know I’m not alone in this!

Tenderness rather than pain will be a welcome change from what I experienced in my first surgery. Of course that was mega bone grafting both jaws so I was stitched all the way across top and bottom and had to be restitched on bottom to make it tighter as well. I wanted to slug the dentist for not making it right the first time, but now in retrospect I’m happy he corrected it because it ultimately healed up well.

As for the permanent teeth I plan to be EXTREMELY particular about them! My dentist said he is a perfectionist and won’t rest until I’m satisfied with them. I have read reviews that he’s more particular about the finished product than the patient, so I shouldn’t have a problem with getting it right. I was told that once I sign off on the teeth, no more changes can be made without further cost so there’s no way in hell I will till I’m happy! Thank you for your advice on taking pictures with 100 different expressions to mull over. Excellent tip! And, thank you again for your support!❤️
 
Anxious76... I'm glad you pointed me to your journal... I can relate to a lot of what you've written.

The first 2 dentists sounded like fools... how dare they make any patient feel the way they made you feel... it's disgusting behavior! Good thing is you got the lucky 3rd! Sounds like he's one of the good guys :)

Good luck with the upcoming implant surgery, I'll be keeping an eye on your journal for the updates!!

Spanky

Thank you for your support Spanky! I’ll be keeping an eye out for your updates as well!?
 
Well, today is not one of my better days. I woke up this morning from a dream about my dentist.
In my dream I went in for my next surgery and he had me lay down on a cold hard table instead of in the chair and he put the IV in me. It was at that point I told him I wasn’t ready and needed to go to the bathroom. Instead I left the office altogether and didnt come back. Think my subconscious is trying to tell me something? :(

I have not thought about my upcoming surgery really at all and thought I was doing good. Now today I’ve had an anxiety attack and some tears and I don’t have the first damn clue why. I mean I know I have general anxiety disorder as it is that I don’t take medication for because I don’t want to get dependent on it, but I hate when an attack comes when I’m seemingly calm and nothing is wrong. I’m tempted to take one of the Valium I have from the dentist since I have 5 and I’ll only need one before my next appointment. I need the stress of all this tooth nonsense to be over with. I honestly can’t stand it sometimes and wish I could wake tomorrow and be done with it. Other days I’m optimistic. I guess I’m human to have ups and downs but it’s rather exhausting and crippling for me some days and sometimes I don’t want to leave my house. I’m just venting because I needed to. I don’t want to burden my husband with any of this so I hide. Bad enough he’s married to someone with dental problems let’s not make him come to terms with the full range of my psychosis just yet. My humor is my saving grace at times.
 
Well, today is not one of my better days. I woke up this morning from a dream about my dentist.
In my dream I went in for my next surgery and he had me lay down on a cold hard table instead of in the chair and he put the IV in me. It was at that point I told him I wasn’t ready and needed to go to the bathroom. Instead I left the office altogether and didnt come back. Think my subconscious is trying to tell me something? :(

I have not thought about my upcoming surgery really at all and thought I was doing good. Now today I’ve had an anxiety attack and some tears and I don’t have the first damn clue why. I mean I know I have general anxiety disorder as it is that I don’t take medication for because I don’t want to get dependent on it, but I hate when an attack comes when I’m seemingly calm and nothing is wrong. I’m tempted to take one of the Valium I have from the dentist since I have 5 and I’ll only need one before my next appointment. I need the stress of all this tooth nonsense to be over with. I honestly can’t stand it sometimes and wish I could wake tomorrow and be done with it. Other days I’m optimistic. I guess I’m human to have ups and downs but it’s rather exhausting and crippling for me some days and sometimes I don’t want to leave my house. I’m just venting because I needed to. I don’t want to burden my husband with any of this so I hide. Bad enough he’s married to someone with dental problems let’s not make him come to terms with the full range of my psychosis just yet. My humor is my saving grace at times.

Firstly, can I tell you that what you have said above, apart from the dream you had, is uncanny because it's as though I wrote it about myself. I haven't had the time to reply to your lovely message to me on my journal yet, because I want to give it the time it deserves and I have more of that at the weekends, but I saw your messsge here and had to reply. I REALLY hope you had a better day since the day you last posted. I think what you're feeling is not your subconscious trying to tell you anything sinister, it's just trying to work through your anxious thoughts. You already have GAD and so you will tend to over think things, just as I do. But, even if you hadn't, what you're going through is huge by any standards so don't best yourself up. I also have 5 pills from my dr, only Ativan, not Valium! I'm actually terrified of taking them as I never have yet and don't want to get hooked or anything, the dr in the ER gave them to me after I had a panic attack in November last year which was truly horrifying.
I really can relate to you, and it's very helpful for me to know that someone else feels like I do, though I wish neither of us did! Please try and refocus your thoughts on how good it will feel in just a few short weeks with this all behind you! Remember how courageous and strong you have been and continue to be through all this change and challenge. You are so right to say you are just human with normal ups and downs!
I really hope you are sleeping well now and that you have a special weekend with your husband.
Keep in touch and pm me if you want to. God bless for now :)
 
Well, today is not one of my better days. I woke up this morning from a dream about my dentist.
In my dream I went in for my next surgery and he had me lay down on a cold hard table instead of in the chair and he put the IV in me. It was at that point I told him I wasn’t ready and needed to go to the bathroom. Instead I left the office altogether and didnt come back. Think my subconscious is trying to tell me something? :(

I have not thought about my upcoming surgery really at all and thought I was doing good. Now today I’ve had an anxiety attack and some tears and I don’t have the first damn clue why. I mean I know I have general anxiety disorder as it is that I don’t take medication for because I don’t want to get dependent on it, but I hate when an attack comes when I’m seemingly calm and nothing is wrong. I’m tempted to take one of the Valium I have from the dentist since I have 5 and I’ll only need one before my next appointment. I need the stress of all this tooth nonsense to be over with. I honestly can’t stand it sometimes and wish I could wake tomorrow and be done with it. Other days I’m optimistic. I guess I’m human to have ups and downs but it’s rather exhausting and crippling for me some days and sometimes I don’t want to leave my house. I’m just venting because I needed to. I don’t want to burden my husband with any of this so I hide. Bad enough he’s married to someone with dental problems let’s not make him come to terms with the full range of my psychosis just yet. My humor is my saving grace at times.

Anxious76... Stay strong!! The anxiety, the dreams, every negative thought unfortunately seem to be part of the whole package... I've been finding that out too... it really sux but you HAVE to stay strong!! You will come out the other side of this and will be a new person. As for having GAD... of course all the pre-surgery jitters are going to affect your general state of mental health... what you are doing is going to be LIFE CHANGING for you!! I'm not talking about the surgery, I'm talking about afterwards... when you've healed up... you have your implants and secured teeth... you can smile, and eat, and I can guarantee that your outlook on life will take a drastic change for the better! In the meantime... if your anxiety is that bad... then pop a Valium... relax, have a sleep and wake up refreshed, with a clear head and try to move forward again with positive thoughts!! Remember... your hubby married you for the person you are... you're very lucky to have his love and support through all this! And don't forget you always have all the cyber support you could possibly ask for on this site!! Everyone reading your journal has your back!! Remember that... and reach out when you need some reassurance!!
 
Just wanted to stop by and tell you: what you are doing here is just amazing and incredibly inspiring. Your endurance in looking for the right dentist who wouldn't behave like an asshole is impressive and also your determination to get this all done, despite anxiety, despite doubts, despite nightmares, despite bad moments.

No matter how many panic attacks, how many tears and how many moments of desperation - the days till your surgery will pass and you will complete this and come out as a winner, you are very brave and strong.

All the best wishes, keep on going and keep us posted.
 
Just a brief update here.

First and most important, from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU for your kind and caring words of encouragement and support. After my couple days of intense anxiety I kind of shut down a little and took some time to regroup. I did linger here on the forum and I did read your messages and they really truly helped me a great deal, so thank you much!❤️

I’m back to feeling “normal” again for the time being. I’m also writing down questions about my upcoming procedure (I don’t like referring to it as surgery) that I need to ask so I don’t go in with a lot of unknowns. The unknowns are what makes it worse I find. For example, what kind of temporary denture am I going to have? Will it be exactly like the one I have now or a temp bridge for the implants? Will I finally have something on bottom? How do I take care of myself after so I don’t get infections or have other issues? How many appointments will I need to have for follow up? I need to know what I’m going to be facing as far as ability to eat for the short term, and how to plan my life around appointments when it’s done. If I wait till surgery day I’m going to be too geeked out on the goo goo juice to ask or remember anything. :) My husband will ask and be told of course but I like to hear that things first hand as well.

For right now...today and for this week, I will focus on staying present and keeping the positive attitude that once this is done I will have a healthy and functioning mouth again and will only need 2 cleanings a year like a normal dental patient. That’s something worth smiling about! I hope everyone has a great week and Valentine’s Day. I’ll be following along with your journeys as well. THANK YOU all again so much for your support!
 
A fly in the ointment...

My dentist office called me yesterday to inform me that my dentist is not going to be in the office on the 28th of February which is the day my surgery is scheduled. Apparently he either takes or gives courses out of state from time to time and this is one of those times. He has another practice and only comes in to the one I go to two days per week...apparently the office manager didn’t check that far ahead in his personal schedule while they were booking my surgery. ? I’m upset the office staff was incompetent.

Bottom line my Prosthodontist will be in the office today so the office manager is going to see if he can cancel his class (I’m not holding my breath) and if not my surgery will be rescheduled for March 14th instead. I’ll know by the end of the day today and I’m trying really hard not to be upset in the meantime.
 
Took till today but I finally got the confirmation I was waiting for. My surgery is now March 14th. The incompetence of the dental office staff bothers me immensely, but I won’t hold it against my Prosthodontist. I also won’t spend the next three weeks sick to my stomach with dread and worry. I’m going to put it all from my mind best I can until I no longer can. That’s all for now.
 
Took till today but I finally got the confirmation I was waiting for. My surgery is now March 14th. The incompetence of the dental office staff bothers me immensely, but I won’t hold it against my Prosthodontist. I also won’t spend the next three weeks sick to my stomach with dread and worry. I’m going to put it all from my mind best I can until I no longer can. That’s all for now.

I love and admire the fact that you're determined not to give in to anxious thoughts and feelings-that's so great ?. I heard today that my appointment had been cancelled and I had to reschedule for the 13th March.
So-looks like we're doing this together!
I'm here for you and am sending you lots of good wishes, positive thoughts and hugs...have a good evening friend ?
 
You are demonstrating real courage. You're an inspiration.
 
You are demonstrating real courage. You're an inspiration.

She certainly is amazing and and a great encouragement to me right now?
 
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I’m still here, but I have been busy with other things in life and so the main focus hasn’t been my mouth or upcoming procedure. I got a call this week from the dentist office confirming me for the 14th and they said they will call again before the appointment just to go over a few things (not to eat or drink after midnight the night before, I know the drill...pun intended). So between now and then I’ll go out and eat a few times and see a couple movies since I know I’ll be swollen and not able to eat much of anything for a couple of weeks. Thank you to those following along and who leave kind words for me. I really appreciate it. I may seem brave but I need all the encouragement I can get. I’ll update again before the big day.❤️
 
I’m still here, but I have been busy with other things in life and so the main focus hasn’t been my mouth or upcoming procedure. I got a call this week from the dentist office confirming me for the 14th and they said they will call again before the appointment just to go over a few things (not to eat or drink after midnight the night before, I know the drill...pun intended). So between now and then I’ll go out and eat a few times and see a couple movies since I know I’ll be swollen and not able to eat much of anything for a couple of weeks. Thank you to those following along and who leave kind words for me. I really appreciate it. I may seem brave but I need all the encouragement I can get. I’ll update again before the big day.❤️

Hi, I'm glad that you have been able to keep busy with the many other things that are important in life, and have not been getting stressed about the upcoming appointment. That's really a sign of growth so good for you! I love the way you are thinking ahead practically and planning well for when you are going to be healing. You are EXTEMELY brave, and a true inspiration, honestly you are..
There are many lovely people, who are here for you and cheering you on, you are nearly there friend!
Have a blessed weekend ...
 
Hi, I'm glad that you have been able to keep busy with the many other things that are important in life, and have not been getting stressed about the upcoming appointment. That's really a sign of growth so good for you! I love the way you are thinking ahead practically and planning well for when you are going to be healing. You are EXTEMELY brave, and a true inspiration, honestly you are..
There are many lovely people, who are here for you and cheering you on, you are nearly there friend!
Have a blessed weekend ...

Thank you for the lovely message my friend. Your appointment is coming up as well, so we can be a good strong support for each other! I’m spinning a little this morning and reading about dental implants and the many many many people who have had them done, swear by them, and insist it’s only minor discomfort afterward that isn’t impossible to handle. I’m taking some deep breaths and trying not to what if myself into a frenzy...not getting too far ahead of myself either wondering if he will be able to place all the implants this time or if I will need to go through ANOTHER one of these. I guess the best thing is to prepare myself that this isn’t the last one so I can be over the top elated when the whole thing goes better than I thought.

Mostly right now I’m looking forward to that feeling of 500 pounds being lifted off my shoulders when I’m done and walk out of that office after I’m done next week.
 
Surely they'll do them all at once to save you having to have a 2nd procedure,what sedation are you having?
 
Surely they'll do them all at once to save you having to have a 2nd procedure,what sedation are you having?

It depends actually on how much grafting is still needed whether or not he can place them all. I’m in good hands and I’m confident he will do what he can to spare me and himself from having to go in a third time. I’m doing IV Sedation, but taking a Valium an hour before my appointment so I don’t have to be a wreck on my way in.
 
It depends actually on how much grafting is still needed whether or not he can place them all. I’m in good hands and I’m confident he will do what he can to spare me and himself from having to go in a third time. I’m doing IV Sedation, but taking a Valium an hour before my appointment so I don’t have to be a wreck on my way in.
I've had 2 so far and think I may need 2 more but not definate on that,I may need to start taking something before appointments aswell as there only going to get harder from here.
 
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