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My thoughts

T

Teix

Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2021
Messages
22
Location
Uk
Ok, I am 30 days out to my first appointment in 8 years.

I’ve started taking Kalm tablets for my daily anxiety and also in the hopes it keep my anxiety tolerable when the big day comes. I think it’s helping. I still feel the anxiety but it’s at a much lower level than it has been. I’ve also replaced coffee and regular tea with green tea and herbal teas to cut down on my caffeine intake. I didn’t know how reliant I’d become on it; I am so tired! But hopefully that’ll settle down shortly.

Is it weird that even though I’m terrified of what happens and what I discover that I’m also kind of excited? I am actually really looking forward to seeing my teeth all nice and clean!

I am also looking forward to dropping the daily anxiety too! At least I hope it falls away after my appointments and any treatments I need. I am looking forward to being able to eat normally again. I really miss eating anything other that soup or soft foods.
 
Hi Teix, that’s amazing well done for booking an appointment! :thumbsup!: Sounds like you have taken lots of positive steps to make this easier for yourself too. I agree after my 6 years of avoiding the dentist the excitement of actually going to the appointment was there too with the anxiety. I think it was knowing it will be a huge weight of my mind after all that time and relief and proudness of myself for doing it!:party: Good luck for the appointment, and here to support in the run up if needed!
 
Hi Teix, that’s amazing well done for booking an appointment! :thumbsup!: Sounds like you have taken lots of positive steps to make this easier for yourself too. I agree after my 6 years of avoiding the dentist the excitement of actually going to the appointment was there too with the anxiety. I think it was knowing it will be a huge weight of my mind after all that time and relief and proudness of myself for doing it!:party: Good luck for the appointment, and here to support in the run up if needed!

Thank you! I’m trying to focus on the excitement more especially when the anxiety for the appointment ramps up.

I’m really hoping that the most I need right now is a deep cleaning or two to get my gums into better shape.

I do also have a pesky impacted wisdom tooth but it’s been like that since my last dentist visit many moons ago and it gives me no trouble at the moment (touch wood!). It obviously needs to come out but hopefully I’ll be in a better place for it mentally!
 
Thank you! I’m trying to focus on the excitement more especially when the anxiety for the appointment ramps up.

I’m really hoping that the most I need right now is a deep cleaning or two to get my gums into better shape.

I do also have a pesky impacted wisdom tooth but it’s been like that since my last dentist visit many moons ago and it gives me no trouble at the moment (touch wood!). It obviously needs to come out but hopefully I’ll be in a better place for it mentally!

Hi teix that’s okay,

I had two impacted wisdom teeth and had three of them surgically removed under GA and honestly I was so frightened of having it done and feared the recovery the most, but it was actually fine! Nowhere near whst I imagined. So IF it comes to it and it may not, it will be okay.
 
Just wanted to add to my previous post about the impacted wisdom teeth removal, it was my choice to have a GA. I had the option of local
Anaesthetic alone or IV sedation and I’m sure other other places offer laughing gas too. As I know not everyone likes he idea of GA just wanted to be clear it wasn’t the only option.
 
Just wanted to add to my previous post about the impacted wisdom teeth removal, it was my choice to have a GA. I had the option of local
Anaesthetic alone or IV sedation and I’m sure other other places offer laughing gas too. As I know not everyone likes he idea of GA just wanted to be clear it wasn’t the only option.

Honestly I think whatever option knocks me out the best so I don’t remember it would be ideal ?
 
Honestly I think whatever option knocks me out the best so I don’t remember it would be ideal ?

Haha i’d have to agree with you there ?
 
I’m now just over a week away from my appointment. Currently the excitement of having shiny, clean teeth is winning but unfortunately the dark anxiety cloud and thoughts of “what if”aren’t too far behind!

My daily anxiety has definitely dropped down to much more manageable levels. When I made this journal I was literally only eating soup and protein shakes because I was terrified of eating. I was so physically exhausted because I was eating so little but one of (or all of!) my anxiety reducing measures must have done something because I can eat again. Not normally - it’s mostly soft, easy to eat foods and I need a distraction like a book or tv; but it’s still a massive improvement. I even managed cake for my husbands birthday!

I’m a little concerned that my eating anxiety will respike around and after my appointment but if I take things one day at a time and be gentle with myself then hopefully I’ll be fine.

In appointment news I got my confirmation letter the other day. It listed the name of the dentist I’ll be seeing so I went onto the practice’s website and read her bio. She looks like a really nice, friendly person and her bio says she’s good with children and nervous patients which is good to know!
 
Yay well done that the positive side is still winning. That’s great it will be over before you know it and it will be okay! I know it’s hard to to listen to the what ifs though. They definitely catch on in our minds!

And well done with the food too! Amazing progress. Sounds like you have found some good anxiety strategies!

Good luck for next week. Keep us updated either after on in the run up this week!
 
Yay well done that the positive side is still winning. That’s great it will be over before you know it and it will be okay! I know it’s hard to to listen to the what ifs though. They definitely catch on in our minds!

And well done with the food too! Amazing progress. Sounds like you have found some good anxiety strategies!

Good luck for next week. Keep us updated either after on in the run up this week!

I will do ?

I think distraction is one of my best methods haha; the weather has started getting nicer so I’ve been able to expend some energy gardening which takes my mind of it completely!

I’m planning on wearing head phones during my appointment if they do clean on the day. I think I can handle the initial exam but I’m going to need some loud music to take my mind of anything else!
 
Hey, I've also used headphones for my first appointment. I think it was more of an excuse to not listen to the hygienist talking about the condition of my teeth (I know they are bad, don't need reminding). It didn't block the noises out completely, but it did make it much much better.
Just make sure the dentist is fine with it, and make sure they will leave any remarks or anything they want to tell you for after the procedure. I find that many dentists like to pass information to the patient while they are working on the tooth, and some people want to know what the dentist is doing so if you're going to listen to music instead, make sure they won't say anything important to you while you can't hear it.

Also, the fact that you decided to do it is amazing, and there's nothing they can tell you that will diminish that. You should be proud of yourself for taking that first step! ?
 
Hey, I've also used headphones for my first appointment. I think it was more of an excuse to not listen to the hygienist talking about the condition of my teeth (I know they are bad, don't need reminding). It didn't block the noises out completely, but it did make it much much better.
Just make sure the dentist is fine with it, and make sure they will leave any remarks or anything they want to tell you for after the procedure. I find that many dentists like to pass information to the patient while they are working on the tooth, and some people want to know what the dentist is doing so if you're going to listen to music instead, make sure they won't say anything important to you while you can't hear it.

Also, the fact that you decided to do it is amazing, and there's nothing they can tell you that will diminish that. You should be proud of yourself for taking that first step! ?

Weird coincidence! I was just replying to you and my dentist rang to confirm ? so I asked them about headphones and they are happy to accommodate me!

I am definitely super proud of taking the first step. I might have neglected my mouth but years but taking any steps to improve yourself is always something to celebrate!

In other news part of the tartar behind my teeth has cracked. I was brushing it this morning and felt a little pressure but thought nothing of it. Then later today I prodded it with my tongue and it felt weird. Looking at it I can now see a long wiggly crack through it. I guess it’s pretty heavily deposited if it’s cracking off!

I’ve had this happen before around 8 months ago where a large chunk fell out and it was scary, I thought my teeth would could out with it.

I’ve had a little panicky moment and now my tongue won’t stop poking it ? but deep breaths and I feel a little calmer. If a chunk falls out then I guess that’s just less for the dentist to clean next week! Still doesn’t stop me being a little scared if it does fall out. ?
 
If it cracked, it just makes it that much easier to clean it for the dentist. Just try not poking at it too much. I know what I say is hard, but just try to forget it's even there.
 
If it cracked, it just makes it that much easier to clean it for the dentist. Just try not poking at it too much. I know what I say is hard, but just try to forget it's even there.

Definitely hard to ignore but I’ll try my best ? brushing it might be fun though but I’m guessing it’ll be fine if I’m gentle. Thank God it’s only “damage” to something that doesn’t belong and will removed super soon - only a few days left to deal with it.
 
Three and a bit more days to go!

The optimist and pessimist within me are fighting!

The optimist hopes that I have no major long term issues, aside from mild gum disease which will be manageable after a good deep cleaning and regular check ups.

The pessimist reckons I’ll need at least two teeth removed, maybe four or five, and that I have super bad gum disease so all my teeth will fall out.

I’m trying to stay with the optimist side but I guess if I do need a lot of work I’m at least somewhat prepared.

I’m also a little nervous about post appointment. Depending on what they do -if they clean out my teeth at this appointment or whatever else - I’m concerned it will regress my eating anxiety back to liquids. Which would suck because I’ve been making progress with eating everyday.

I’m really hoping that post appointment I’ll be able to eat like a normal person again! Even if I do have a few “wobbly” days first.
 
Ok, my appointment is in half an hour!

Anxiety is winning over the excitement but the excitement is still there somewhere.

I’ve managed to eat something small for breakfast which is great for me because I hate eating in the morning and I usually can’t eat with anxiety but I thought it best to have something in my stomach.

I’ve tried to make myself and comfortable and prepared as possible and I’ve put on my favourite perfume which always makes me feel good.

Also, in slightly related news I tried a water flosser for the first time this morning. I’ve been trying to manually floss (only my uppers, I won’t touch the bottom till the dentist can clean them!) since I started this journal but I’m finding that getting to my molars is difficult so bought a waterflosser. I took it out of the box yesterday and it slightly terrified me! But I thought I’d throw caution to the wind and try it on my upper molars and it wasn’t too bad. It didn’t hurt like I thought although I definitely need to practice because I washed my face, mirror and ceiling at the same time! Baby steps though! Hopefully within a few weeks it’ll be old hat and mundane to me.

Ok. Here I go. Hoping for good news but slightly prepared for bad!

Here’s to the start of a better relationship with my dental health and anxiety. ?
 
Fingers crossed!
Sending positive thoughts to you, as you most probably are in the appointment just now.
Tell us how it went after ^^

Also, I need to try out water flosser too. I'm using a device with a flossing string on it, because I have big hands and small mouth and it's very difficult to do it manually. And I still can't teach my back molars, even with the device. I also thought about it for my daughter - she's 3 years old and this would help me get the food leftovers from her back teeth without brushing her teeth after each meal.
 
I’m back!

So it’s pretty much what I assumed / was mentally prepared for. My dentist took an X-ray and said I have up to around 50% bone loss in the area with the tartar but she can’t tell for sure because the tartar was blocking her view a little. They said they’ll know more once they’ve done a deep clean.

It absolutely sucks that I left if for so long that I have bone loss but I can’t really change what’s happened in the past. All I can do is look to the future and ensure I have a better relationship with my mouth from now on.

I’m booked in for a deep cleaning in a months time and they recommended deep cleans every three months for a year to keep on top of it. So at least I’ll get some exposure that will combat those dental fears!

My dentist and assistant was wonderful! They absolutely kept me calm, they explained everything thoroughly, gently, and realistically. I don’t think I’ve ever been so “relaxed” at a dentist before - although this was just an exam and X-ray so we’ll see how I feel at the next appointment. The actual practice was nice too; the reception staff were friendly, it didn’t smell or look like a dentist either.

@TheWolfess

I think water flosser are probably worth a go. I have a small mouth too so it’s super hard to get right in there. I think it’s just getting the hang of it so you aren’t jet cleaning your bathroom everyday ?
 
I’m back!

So it’s pretty much what I assumed / was mentally prepared for. My dentist took an X-ray and said I have up to around 50% bone loss in the area with the tartar but she can’t tell for sure because the tartar was blocking her view a little. They said they’ll know more once they’ve done a deep clean.

It absolutely sucks that I left if for so long that I have bone loss but I can’t really change what’s happened in the past. All I can do is look to the future and ensure I have a better relationship with my mouth from now on.

I’m booked in for a deep cleaning in a months time and they recommended deep cleans every three months for a year to keep on top of it. So at least I’ll get some exposure that will combat those dental fears!

My dentist and assistant was wonderful! They absolutely kept me calm, they explained everything thoroughly, gently, and realistically. I don’t think I’ve ever been so “relaxed” at a dentist before - although this was just an exam and X-ray so we’ll see how I feel at the next appointment. The actual practice was nice too; the reception staff were friendly, it didn’t smell or look like a dentist either.

@TheWolfess

I think water flosser are probably worth a go. I have a small mouth too so it’s super hard to get right in there. I think it’s just getting the hang of it so you aren’t jet cleaning your bathroom everyday ?

Congratulations for going to your appointment! Glade to here you were somewhat relaxed and liked the dental team. Sounds like they were good!

As you say you can’t go back and you should be proud you have gone now and are on the path to fixing it!

I found it great to start with a tooth cleaning and build up as you sat gives you exposure and time to build confidence and trust with the dentist.
 
I’m a few days out to my appointment and I’m ... surprisingly calm. No doubt I’ll panic on the day but I’m currently feeling pretty okay.

I am still concerned about what happens after my appointment. I’m a little worried my teeth will be loose past what I think I’m able to handle. But I’ve been brainstorming some questions specifically about aftercare and whether they recommend specific products for a while etc. I may take a notebook and I can take notes so I don’t forget. I want to heal the best I possibly can!

I’ve also preempted my anxiety and bought some meal replacements. I have a enough for around 7 days post appointment but I’m hoping I’ll get something solid in me before I run out because a liquid diet is seriously depressing. But I also have some leftover protein powder so if I do struggle to eat several solid meals I can somewhat fall back on those a little. I’m definitely trying to eat like a king between now and my appointment though while I can.

I’m also slightly convinced she’ll be halfway through and she’ll tap me on the shoulder and say “I’m sorry but X teeth need to be removed today”. I’m hoping that’s just anxiety speaking but at least I’m somewhat prepared for it. She did mention the possibility of a bridge and I googled how they work and it doesn’t seem so bad to have one if I need one. I think the idea of having a gap while it heals and I get one in that’s not pleasant but thankfully we are still wearing masks and my lovely husband said he doesn’t care because “we’ll all lose teeth at some point!” - which is actually a reassuring comment in a weird way!

This is very rambling but it feels nice to get these thoughts out!
 
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