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Need My Wisdom Teeth (+1) out and I'm Horrified

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rynecsnyder

Junior member
Joined
Jan 11, 2018
Messages
1
I went to the dentist because of a broken tooth (which needs to be removed) and found out I need all four of my wisdom teeth out. Apparently they're impacted, even though I have no idea what that means when it comes to teeth. They're causing me no pain whatsoever (neither is the broken tooth) but my dentist wants them out, and she wants it done quickly. I guess I understand because for her this is something she does every day. But to me this is a legitimately traumatic experience.

I've dreaded needing my wisdom teeth out ever since I learned of their existence as a little kid. I have horrible anxiety over my health and imagining this scenario is something that has kept me up at night with panic attacks for years. It's causing me so much anguish just knowing that it needs to be done, to the point where I can't even bring myself to make the appointment. I'm convinced that something is going to go horribly wrong and that I'm going to die. Or even if I survive, I'm scared that I'll make a mistake when it comes to aftercare and I'll bleed to death in my sleep or dislodge the blood clot and it'll go to my heart or brain.


It doesn't help that this is all coming during one of the worst periods of anxiety in my life. I have constant obsessive fears about my health, specifically that I have an undiagnosed heart condition or a brain tumor. I'm dealing with my anxiety with the help of a team of doctors, and I've told them about my fears for the dental stuff, but there's only so much they can do.


My psychologist told me that I should hold off on getting anything done until I was in a better mental state, as he believes I'm improving a lot. At first I thought that sounded like a good idea. But then I remembered something about needing a sinus lift if I wait too long. Once I remembered the dentist telling me that, everything got a lot worse. I feel trapped, like I can't put this off without causing myself more pain, but all I want is to put this off as long as possible. I don't understand why I need this done at all when I'm not in any pain. I'm a crying mess and I don't know what to do.


I guess my biggest question is how long can I put this off before I need a sinus lift. It's already been like a month since the tooth broke, but only a few weeks since I saw the dentist. Is it already too late? Because in that case I'll just wait since I'll need the sinus lift done no matter what. Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

Edit: I forgot to mention that they're not putting me under. I have a bad phobia about going under and they said they weren't comfortable doing it anyway, so it wasn't even really a choice on my part.
 
Dear rynecsnyder,

really sorry to hear what your are going through. It seems like you are generally going through a really hard time regarding anxiety at the moment and since the wisdom teeth were a difficult topic for you since you were a child anyway, I understand how horrified you are. So you would like to wait with it a bit and stabilize yourself first before doing any treatment and at the same time you are scared of consequences this might have. This is a very difficult situation.

You mentioned that your dentist wants to take the wisdom teeth out as soon as possible but it seems to me that you are not sure if the procedure is really necessary and would like to know how much time you have before this must happen. Would it be an idea to get a second opinion on that to get more clarity? It also might be helpful if they could put you at ease regarding the aftercare and explain to you why what you believe could happen won't happen.

About the procedure itself - getting put under is not an option since you have a phobia about it and they wouldn't do it anyway. Did they offer you other options, like laughing gas or oral sedation - anything that would make you calmer for the treatment?

As I was going through my dental journey, a psychologist I knew offered me the option to be present during the treatment and help me going through it. She suggested we could make a secret stop sign that only she would understand and would take control of the situation in moments I wouldn't be able to do it by myself. While I never used it, it was interesting to know that this approach exists. Also a friend of mine who has difficulties with some medical treatments got offed by her psychologist to get accompanied during the treatment so that the psychologist can run her through some techniques. So maybe your psychologist could offer you some short term solution for being able to cope with the treatment if there is no option of putting it off.

Well.. not sure if this is any helpful for you since anxiety is not a logical thing, especially if you are anxious about your health in general - but I got all 4 wisdom teeth out in one session and it was one of the easiest procedures I have ever experienced and it was very quick. I was (very slowly) eating pizza in a restaurant with a friend of mine at the same evening. The worst part was the anxiety before that. The aftercare was not a problem either and my dentist took a look every few days to make sure everything was ok.

Sending good wishes for you and hopefully you will find a way to get this solved. Let us know how you are doing.
 
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