Need 2 fillings - very anxious, lots of questions, please help!

[jen.louise]

So I'll begin by saying I have a huge dental anxiety. Not sure why, never had any nasty experiences, but it's there all the same. Anyway, I had noticed a cavity in my lower left 2nd molar and was doing my best to ignore it because it wasn't painful. Then last week, part of the tooth broke off, meaning I then had no choice but to see a dentist.

I saw a dentist in an emergency clinic, he confirmed that there was decay in the tooth. The edges were very sharp where it had broken, so he smoothed them off and placed a temporary filling. He didn't remove any of the decay before placing the temporary, I assume because it was an emergency appointment and I wasn't actually in any pain.

I came home and managed to register myself with an NHS dentist, and on Tuesday evening they saw me for an initial assessment. She found decay in the lower left 3rd molar as well, and I'm scheduled to go back for the 2 fillings in 3 weeks. I'm very anxious about it as I've never had fillings before. I think if I'm totally prepared for what's going to happen, I'll be able to cope with it better. So I have several questions I'm hoping you guys can help me with!

1. Will putting the temporary filling on top of the decayed tooth make the decay significantly worse in the space of 3 weeks? I'm very worried about the fact that the decay is now "sealed" inside the tooth.

2. I have TMJ problems, I can only open my mouth 2 finger breadths comfortably. This was OK for the emergency filling and for the check up, but I'm guessing with having to do a filling in the lower left wisdom tooth the dentist might need more space in my mouth since it's so far back. Is there anything I can do to help the situation? Also worried about how long I might have to keep my mouth open.....

3. How long is it likely to take to have 2 fillings done? The wisdom tooth one is hopefully going to be just a small occlusal filling, the 2nd molar I'm guessing will take more time as she will have to build up the area where the tooth broke, and I don't know how much decay is in that tooth (haven't had any x-rays, but it's never been painful, so hopefully the decay won't be too deep?)

4. She told me to eat something fairly substantial before going to the appointment because I'll be numb for 4-5 hours afterwards and unable to eat, but when I'm anxious I feel sick and don't want to eat. Will I really not be able to eat anything for 5 hours, or would I be able to have something soft?

Thanks if you are able to help with any of my questions. I know it probably seems ridiculous to be this anxious about getting 2 fillings, but as I said before, I've never had any and I have significant dental anxiety issues!

 

[rob wain]

Hi Jen,
firstly well done for following up with another visit after the emergency session.
I've answered your questions below
1. sealing in the decay for a few weeks won't harm in fact it can slow down the decay.
2.I have difficulties staying wide open for a long time too, you should tell the dentist so that they can allow you to take a break quite often but two fingers breadth is ok for access to wisdom teeth so don't worry about that either.
3. White fillings take much longer to do than silver fillings (which is why they cost more). Why not call and ask how long the appointment is scheduled for, this would give you an idea of how long the dentist expects it take. Don't forget to allow about ten minutes for getting comfortable, going numb etc.
4. if you have white fillings you can eat on them straight away but you have to be careful not to bite your lip or chin. Silver fillings take longer to harden - allow an hour. If you can't eat a proper meal try and have something sugary to keep your blood glucose levels up (I'm assuming you're not diabetic).
You've done the right things so far so keep being brave. hope it goes well

 

[jen.louise]

Thanks for replying so quickly. I think because everything happened so quickly, I didn't get a chance to get too worked up about actually making the appointments. When my tooth broke I couldn't do anything for a couple of days because I was working, but when I called the emergency clinic they gave me an appointment for that same day. The dentist then freaked me out by doing the temporary filling without getting rid of any of the decay in the tooth, and told me I had to get it taken care of fairly quickly or it would get worse and I would risk losing the tooth. So I came home, found a local NHS dentist on the internet and called them - and they gave me an appointment the next day. Once I'd had my checkup, I had to take the paperwork back to reception so she could see I needed to come back for fillings.........so I didn't have much chance to chicken out of making another appointment.

Now I just have 3 weeks of increasing fear and anxiety about actually getting the fillings done Oh, and they'll be amalgam because it's on the NHS.

I'm also really scared that because I haven't had x-rays, no-one really knows how extensive the decay is in the tooth that broke. It was only about 1/8th of the tooth that broke off, but I could see the dark brown decay inside it. Although it's never caused me any pain, I'm terrified that when the dentist starts drilling she'll find that the decay is really bad and I'll end up needing more than just a filling.

 

[browneyedgirlie]

You've already taken the biggest step by going to the first appointment!
I had 2 big fillings at once at the end of March. My whole appointment was 45 minutes but, as said above, that allows for the little chat, injections, waiting for it to go numb. The drilling is over really quickly then they fill it up, put a little heat on it (I like to describe it as a mini hair drier in your mouth) - it's fine, then you're done.
Seriously it's over before you know it.
Don't have anything too hot straight away afterwards as you'll numb and more likely to burn or bite yourself. When I got home from mine I had a cup of tea which I'd allowed to cool a bit, a yoghurt in the afternoon then pasta for dinner in the evening. Soft but filling.
Good luck.

 

[rob wain]

Sometimes xrays aren't needed to know how deep the decay is. The sensations that you get through the tooth can tell the dentist what to expect and another thing is that the mouth is dark, cavities are always in shadow and that makes any decay look much worse.
It sounds to me like you've done the best thing in acting promptly and that really really helps get a good outcome. Try not to worry.

 

[brit]

Don't have anything too hot straight away afterwards as you'll numb and more likely to burn or bite yourself.

There's no need to starve afterwards (especially if composite) - you can always eat and drink on the opposite side. Unlikely both sides will be numb.

 

[carole]

I can tell you what is going to happen as you said that it is fear of not knowing what is going to happen. The dentist will numb you, the injections can be done pain free, if done slowly. You could ask if they have a gel called topical if you are afraid of the injections as this will numb the gums so that when they inject it will help you not to feel it. Even if they don't use the gel if they are good at giving injections it will not hurt.

You can ask the dentist to arrange a stop signal so that if you need a break they can allow this. Make sure you are numb before they start, if you aren't sure they can test it. If at any time you feel anything tell them and they can give you more numbing stuff. You shouldn't feel any pain at all.

You may feel a little vibration on the tooth from the drill, ask the dentist to explain to you what he is going to do and also if it will make you feel better ask if he will tell you what he is doing as he is doing it and what it may feel like. The appointment will feel much quicker than you think.

Once the tooth is filled ask the dentist how long you need to wait to be able to eat on it. As has been said you do have to be careful after because you can easily bite the inside of your mouth, also when you try and have a drink it can dribble out of the numb side of your mouth. Which might amuse people around you.

You can thaw out a bit quicker if you hold something warm on your cheek at the numb side.

Let us know how you get on please.