Needle fear- terrified!

[Plzdonthurtme]

Hello all,

I have a crown being put on in two weeks and i am so anxious and scared of the needle. I haven’t had dental injections in years. I am crying sometimes.
I have been to my dentist and hygentist for years and they are wonderful people. I know they will do their best.

My brain will not let it go. My brains keeps telling me i will be in excruating pain, or i will move from the pain and make a huge gash into my guns, or the injections is going to distort my gums so bad my face and checks will be deformed ( yes, i know this is just my stupid brain).

I am terrified of pain of the needle. I hate needles. I am terrified.

I got Xanax (Alprazolam) to hopefully keep my calm so i don’t flip out.

I guess i am needing some reassurance that things will be okay. That it won’t be excriuatingly painful.

Help..

 

[kitkat]

Hi!
I just had 3 fillings replaced last week one on bottom and 2 on top which resulted in a lot of injections on the left side of my mouth (I think it was about 5 or 6 pokes because I didn’t get properly numb on the bottom tooth from the first round of injections). They used a numbing gel beforehand and warned me about the possibility of a small pinch or sting but if my eyes weren’t open and they weren’t talking to me, I don’t think I would have known when they were injecting. There was maybe a subtle sensation of something there but nothing that would even register as pain. I was especially nervous because I was with a new dentist and didn’t really know what to expect with him but it was super easy and he checked in with me immediately after each poke to make sure I was ok and he was willing to stop immediately if I wasn’t ok but I never needed to stop him. I think the assistant could tell I was nervous because she was giving me little shoulder rubs and squeezes during the injections to comfort me which was very kind. A lot of pain from injections comes from how quickly they are injecting and not so much from the poke (especially if you had numbing gel beforehand) so if they are going nice and slow letting the medicine trickle in gently, the less likely you’ll feel anything. I hope this helps!

 

[oneby]

I can't talk you out of your fears, but I will say that I've often found the thought of a needle to be worse than the reality of it. When it comes to dental injections, the concept of it truly disturbs me, and yet, when it actually happens, I never find it to be so bad, especially since they first use the topical numbing agent. I also remind myself how happy I am to live in the age of modern dentistry where it is possible for them to so easily numb our mouths and do the work, versus having dental work done 100+ years ago.

 

[Plzdonthurtme]

@kitkat Hello. Thank you for the feedback. I know this is in all in my head. I had not gotten an dental injection in years and I do remember it feeling stingy and a pretty intense sting. But reading what people are saying it is how it is injected makes me think that dentist was not being gently or injecting the solution slowly. There was a different dentist at the time, and so even though I have been with this new dentist for years, this is my first procedure with him. I always went for cleanings and exams.

Ugh. I am just so nervous. I am taking a Xanax an hour or so before to help me calm down so I am not backing out

 

[Plzdonthurtme]

@oneby Yes. I am grateful there is better techniques and more care about comfort of the patient.
I know my dentist is NOT deliberately trying to cause me pain and that he wants me to be comfortable. And I have to give him a chance.

 

[BigBorf]

Hi!
Might be a bit late to the party, but...
As someone who's also scared of dental needles and nearly everything that goes along with it. I've also been on the receiving end of more than I'd like to ever admit, and I've got a few ways that once you're in the chair you can do.
First, depending on the dentist you can ask for some topical freezing in the area where the needle will be going. Usually they do this for kids, it tastes sweet but if you get it on your tongue you'll be numb there for a few hours.
Second, you can ask your hygienist for a stress ball or you can bring your own. Putting your mind away from it all isn't easy and it is pretty difficult, but they help. They don't even get mad if you break the stress balls.
Third, ask someone you trust to go with you. Just having a friendly face there with you can be a huge help.
I hope you get through this all and come out of it without being too stressed out!

 

[Plzdonthurtme]

UPDATED.

I had done yesterday and it went very well. My dentist was great and walked me through everything.
I didn’t feel the needle. Now, that might be because of where it was which was the back molar, but i didn’t feel it at all.

First, I took Xanax a hour before my appointment. this helped me get into the chair.

I got the gel first. That numbed me a bit, and then the dentist came injected a little Novocaine and gave me the rest. I didn’t feel it at all and that could be because of the loose tissue in that area. Once i was numbed he prepped the tooth: remove this huge filling, filling the crack, and then drilling the tooth to make it fit the crown. He used some string to wrap around the gums of the stub ( what my tooth felt like after being drilled). When we placing the string in the inner side of the gum, the more firm tissue, that felt a bit uncomfortable, but it wasn’t terrible. He then took pictures and sent to the a machine to make the crown. This was a one visit appointment. The machine made the crown and he came back to fit it in my mouth and once it looked good, he cemented in.

The whole process two 2 to 2.5 hours. Not bad. I was comfortable the entire time.

So all and all it was good and i am happy. The only thing is that my gums and sore is a little sore.

 

[kitkat]

Congrats on making it through your appointment! You must feel so relieved and hopefully proud too for facing your fear!