GeekMonster
Member
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2019
- Messages
- 33
- Location
- 19809
Hello! I'm new here. I just had a long overdue exam and x-rays this morning. The last ones were about 4 years ago, and my last cleaning was 11 years ago. I put it off for a while because I didn't have dental insurance, and then put it off longer out of fear of going. I had quite a few traumatic experiences with the dentist and orthodontist as a kid, and I don't know anyone who enjoys having people poke and prod and scrape around in their mouth!
I try to take really good care of my teeth, and the dentist today said that my teeth are in good shape, and all my bones look strong and healthy on the x-rays. I do have two tiny cavities (not a shock after going without a cleaning for a decade!), but what surprised me was that he said I had enough tartar built up around the gums that I'm going to need a deep cleaning. I always thought that was something for people who just didn't take care of their teeth at all, but now I've learned that it's more about your gums and what's under them, than it is about the parts of the teeth that are visible. He did show me the x-rays, some photos they took in my mouth, and he did the poke measuring thing that immediately made my gums bleed lol.
He wants to start with a general cleaning first and then will do the deep cleaning in two visits; one half at a time. And they will fill the cavities at the same time, since I'll be numbed.
I'm pretty nervous. I haven't had any sort of "dental work" done for about 20 years or more. Reading peoples' experiences online brings up everything from "It was no big deal, didn't hurt at all" to "It was horrible, it was agony, I'm never doing this again".
What am I specifically nervous about? Well, the numbing shots. I'm not a big baby about needles or pain, but some people say that since they have to poke you directly in the nerve, it hurts like hell. I would hope that using numbing gel would help with that. I recently had a total of 7 cysts removed from my head, and each one required local anesthetic, and I managed that pain just fine. I'm usually okay with just breathing through pain if I know it's only going to last a few seconds.
I'm also nervous about *being* numb. I had a horrible experience once where I was given lidocaine to drink because an ER doctor erroneously believed I was having acid reflux pain (it was actually my gallbladder), and they did not warn me that it would numb my mouth and throat COMPLETELY, and suddenly I couldn't feel my tongue or throat and I felt like I was going to die! I had a few fillings done as a child, and a few extractions of baby teeth, and I don't remember anything awful about being numb for that. I also had my wisdom teeth removed in two separate procedures in 2007, and I do remember hating the feeling of my tongue and throat being numb because I couldn't swallow and trying to take the pain pills they gave me, I just dribbled everywhere. So... I'm hoping it won't be like that. I did read the suggestion that I should ask the hygienist to specially suction the back of my mouth after the injections to avoid any "dripping" of the numbing agent into my throat. I will definitely do that.
The only other thing I'm a little nervous about is being expected to keep my mouth wide open for an hour or two without a break. That just sounds miserable! Just stare at the ceiling the whole time?
Hopefully I'll be able to mentally prepare myself before the appointment day. I've got the first regular cleaning appointment on Thursday, 11/21, and I'm not worried about that one.
I try to take really good care of my teeth, and the dentist today said that my teeth are in good shape, and all my bones look strong and healthy on the x-rays. I do have two tiny cavities (not a shock after going without a cleaning for a decade!), but what surprised me was that he said I had enough tartar built up around the gums that I'm going to need a deep cleaning. I always thought that was something for people who just didn't take care of their teeth at all, but now I've learned that it's more about your gums and what's under them, than it is about the parts of the teeth that are visible. He did show me the x-rays, some photos they took in my mouth, and he did the poke measuring thing that immediately made my gums bleed lol.
He wants to start with a general cleaning first and then will do the deep cleaning in two visits; one half at a time. And they will fill the cavities at the same time, since I'll be numbed.
I'm pretty nervous. I haven't had any sort of "dental work" done for about 20 years or more. Reading peoples' experiences online brings up everything from "It was no big deal, didn't hurt at all" to "It was horrible, it was agony, I'm never doing this again".
What am I specifically nervous about? Well, the numbing shots. I'm not a big baby about needles or pain, but some people say that since they have to poke you directly in the nerve, it hurts like hell. I would hope that using numbing gel would help with that. I recently had a total of 7 cysts removed from my head, and each one required local anesthetic, and I managed that pain just fine. I'm usually okay with just breathing through pain if I know it's only going to last a few seconds.
I'm also nervous about *being* numb. I had a horrible experience once where I was given lidocaine to drink because an ER doctor erroneously believed I was having acid reflux pain (it was actually my gallbladder), and they did not warn me that it would numb my mouth and throat COMPLETELY, and suddenly I couldn't feel my tongue or throat and I felt like I was going to die! I had a few fillings done as a child, and a few extractions of baby teeth, and I don't remember anything awful about being numb for that. I also had my wisdom teeth removed in two separate procedures in 2007, and I do remember hating the feeling of my tongue and throat being numb because I couldn't swallow and trying to take the pain pills they gave me, I just dribbled everywhere. So... I'm hoping it won't be like that. I did read the suggestion that I should ask the hygienist to specially suction the back of my mouth after the injections to avoid any "dripping" of the numbing agent into my throat. I will definitely do that.
The only other thing I'm a little nervous about is being expected to keep my mouth wide open for an hour or two without a break. That just sounds miserable! Just stare at the ceiling the whole time?
Hopefully I'll be able to mentally prepare myself before the appointment day. I've got the first regular cleaning appointment on Thursday, 11/21, and I'm not worried about that one.