Never used a forum before? And have a long winded story/question!

[PinkFreud]

I have a severe phobia of dentists and IV needles.
I had a nasty male dentist when I was a child and he scared the hell out of me he was very ruff and shouldn't have worked on children mind you I am 37yrs old and I guess things were a lot different then, I remember him stinking of booze while he was poking and prodding with his pic and I had cavities I was about 6-7yrs old and he would jam it right into each cavity almost launching me off the chair several times and because I was freaking out he would just grab my head and hold me down telling me in a creepy voice to settle down and sit still and he really scared me and was hurting me so I was intimidated experiencing abuse at home I decided to quit moving and just took it as tears streamed down my face but I was scared of him and being punished by my Dad who was in the waiting room.

Then he was going to do the work and I had him jam me with the freezing needle before he knew I was terrified of the needle so he was holding it right in front of my face and could tell by my BULGING EYES that I was loosing it and he squirted the air out I guess and I snapped I drove him in the face with my little fist and bolted out of the chair running away then they had my dad hold me down while he did the work.

I am a large man 260lbs 5'11 stocky and so embarrassed that I am not afraid of much but the thought of seeing a dentist terrifies me to the bone, sincerely my "ULTIMATE FEAR"!!!

I didn't see a dentist again until I was 21 and had to because of my wisdom teeth and they promised I could be under anesthetic while I get my the four pulled and the biggest bonus was they would also do all the other work at the same time a root canal and several fillings. And it was great it revealed so much anxiety for many years because I knew I had cavities and had all these pent up fears about teeth falling out or the inevitable tooth ache that would force me into a dentists chair again and I would have to experience the neddle and drills and the initial picking with the hook! ~~~Shivers~~~

Well that fear has kept me away for almost twenty years and I don't want to loose my teeth but I know I have cavities the tooth that had the root canal fell apart so there is just the base of it left like below the gum line it's the third molar from the back. And I have had some fillings fall out.

Another one is loose now and then i saw this commercial last year I live in Ontario, Canada and they had this commercial that stuck with me they simply said "Do you know what you will be doing twenty years from now?" answer "Eating"! Take care of your teeth see your local dentist.

That commercial has haunted me i don't want to lose my teeth I think I would love false teeth so I wouldn't have to worry about them, but my grandmother always advised against it, shockingly I learned my father had a similar fear he got false teeth and said he wished he did it at my age before he went through all the pain of dentistry.

I wish I could afford false teeth get it all done in one shot and no more fears or worries!
But I can't then I heard if you had a severe phobia you could be put under at the hospital and have your work done?
So I am considering forcing myself to go to the dentist because of this loose filling and i don't want to loose all my teeth slowly and look horrible and not be able to chew anything.

And to top it all off I suffer from bi-polar disorder and experience long bouts of depression. My Dad committed suicide in my living room while I was sleeping I found him, and after that I went into a severe depression for these last few years and was suicidal myself I didn't care about my life obviously my personal hygiene went down the tubes and I just quit brushing up until then I always brushed at least twice a day in the am and pm.

I could never figure out why people would neglect brushing and get those dark almost nicotine like stains on there teeth at the gum's and now I have them. I recently quit drinking and want to quit smoking and turn my life around by forty so I am brushing again but gosh are they sensitive! And the Sensodyne tooth paste burns my gum's so I am sure I have gingivitis I think that's gum disease. And someone told me they had that once and a dentist wanted to charge to remove fix or repair it, he declined for lack of money and instead brushed his teeth diligently twice a day vigorously for like a month he went back to the dentist and he was wondering where he had the work done, and he was shocked that he did it himself.

Is that sound advice should I scrub the hell out of my teeth and let the gum's bleed and heal bleed and heal put up with the sensitivity until I get rid of these stains and don't see so many stains below my gum lines?

Prior to going to a dentist?
I am on disability so the basic dental care is covered?

I am sorry it is such a long story, just the name and nature of the site made me feel to explain and it feels good to tell it I never told anyone about that childhood experience before.
Like I mentioned before I have never used a forum before or a blog? I have tried a couple times and couldn't find my questions or replies?
I apologize for being so aloof!
What does "Automatically parse links in text" mean?

 

[tabatha7]

Wow, I'm so sorry for all that you have been through. I completely understand your fear of the denist and can identify although my experience as a child was not near as bad as yours. I would like to encourage you though about seeing a dentist. Things have changed alot since you were a child. They don't do adults like that. If you have a good dentist who understands your fears he won't do anything you don't want him to. He will ask you if you are ok and you can tell him if anything makes you uncomfortable. You should close your eyes the whole time if you don't want to see the needle. That is what I do. Do you ever get injections like flu shots or anything? The injection for the local does not hurt anymore than that. It's really not bad. They don't use the same stuff they did in the old days and it does not sting like it did back then. I would love for you to be able to atleast talk to a dentist and let them know you have had bad experiences in the past and that it is the only 1 real fear you have. When you go in ... just go with the mind set you are only talking and not doing anything that day. Never hurts to just discuss it does it? Believe it or not there it is a possibility that you could over come your fear of this if you are able to experience it the way it should be done. If you don't like the dentist or feel they are insensitive to your fears you can always get up and leave. I don't think that would happen though.

One other comment I would like to make and I don't know if anyone else would agree with me.... but yes, I feel it is a good idea to brush your teeth regularly (atleast twice a day) but please don't use force when you do it. You can damage your gums that way. Just go easy on them and only use light pressure. The regular brushing should be enough. It would be good if you could floss too.

Keep us posted ...

 

[brit]

PinkFreud
Please have a look at my comments below...

I have a severe phobia of dentists and IV needles.
I had a nasty male dentist when I was a child and he scared the hell out of me he was very ruff and shouldn't have worked on children mind you I am 37yrs old and I guess things were a lot different then, I remember him stinking of booze while he was poking and prodding with his pic and I had cavities I was about 6-7yrs old and he would jam it right into each cavity almost launching me off the chair several times and because I was freaking out he would just grab my head and hold me down telling me in a creepy voice to settle down and sit still and he really scared me and was hurting me so I was intimidated experiencing abuse at home I decided to quit moving and just took it as tears streamed down my face but I was scared of him and being punished by my Dad who was in the waiting room.

As Tabatha7 said, it is no wonder you are afraid with experiences like that. You did not live in an era of 'no novacaine' and any dentist who is intoxicated is not fit for purpose so this was never going to be a good experience for anyone, so none of it was your fault and none of it was how it was supposed to be in accordance with the care standards of the time...so you were very unlucky.

The history of abuse made it even harder for you - your father should have protected you from a drunken dentst not helped him treat you by restraining you...it might help to acknowledge any anger you still feel towards your father about this. We have a special section with tips for abuse survivors to receive dental care and that section is here:

Tips for Abuse Survivors and Their Dentists

Tips for survivors of sexual, emotional and physical abuse and their dentists, written by a survivor of childhood abuse.

www.dentalfearcentral.org

Then he was going to do the work and I had him jam me with the freezing needle before he knew I was terrified of the needle so he was holding it right in front of my face and could tell by my BULGING EYES that I was loosing it and he squirted the air out I guess and I snapped I drove him in the face with my little fist and bolted out of the chair running away then they had my dad hold me down while he did the work.

This did not have to be painful like this even back then...this drunken dentist plus your father was a doomed combination...no wonder you avoided care...it was in no way your fault you reacted like this.

I didn't see a dentist again until I was 21 and had to because of my wisdom teeth and they promised I could be under anesthetic while I get my the four pulled and the biggest bonus was they would also do all the other work at the same time a root canal and several fillings. And it was great..

So this under GA or was it i/v sedation, was your only positive dental experience? You can do restorative dentistry (eg fillings root canals etc ) under i/v sedation but usually under GA they only like to do extractions. Normal dental care with just local anaesthetic can be done comfortably though including the administration of the local anaesthetic so no need to rule this option out if you can find a dentist you like and trust.

Painful Injections and Needle Phobia

Are you terrified of dental injections? Find out why shots may be painful, how to make them comfortable, and what to do if you have needle phobia.

www.dentalfearcentral.org

I have had several dental injections in last few years and not felt any pain from a single one. Not all dentists use the techniques to give painfree injections but enough do to make it possible to find one. AN even larger proportion can do it almost painlessly (such as Tabatha7 described) there is absolutely no need for your childhood injection experience to be repeated.

force me into a dentists chair again and I would have to experience the neddle and drills and the initial picking with the hook! ~~~Shivers~~~

AS I said modern dentistry does not need to be like that even with just local and no sedation...have a look in the Common Fears section and see how much has changed for the better

Dental Fears - The Basics

If you suffer with dental phobia, it can be impossible to see a way forward. This page explains how to identify your fears and provides useful downloads.

www.dentalfearcentral.org

They don't deliberately hurt you during an examination either with the probe (hook) - what you experienced was not the norm.

So I am considering forcing myself to go to the dentist because of this loose filling and i don't want to loose all my teeth slowly and look horrible and not be able to chew anything.

This is a good idea but choose your dentist carefully -

How to find a dentist for nervous patients

Discover how to find a dentist who is good with nervous, scared or phobic patients - and who to avoid!

www.dentalfearcentral.org

And to top it all off I suffer from bi-polar disorder and experience long bouts of depression. My Dad committed suicide in my living room while I was sleeping I found him, and after that I went into a severe depression for these last few years and was suicidal myself I didn't care about my life obviously my personal hygiene went down the tubes and I just quit brushing up until then I always brushed at least twice a day in the am and pm.

So sorry you had these experiences, I'm sure this must make it very difficult coupled with all the abuse you had to contend with..maybe some counselling is in order once you have got to grips with seeing a kind dentist. Not sure how the bi-polar disorder would affect i/v sedation drugs if at all but I would recommend you find a caring dentist you trust who promises not to hurt you and to give you control and restore your smile one step at a time as this option means there is no chance of your slipping back into fear and avoidance again so long as you keep the same dentist.

I could never figure out why people would neglect brushing and get those dark almost nicotine like stains on there teeth at the gum's and now I have them.....
Is that sound advice should I scrub the hell out of my teeth and let the gum's bleed and heal bleed and heal put up with the sensitivity until I get rid of these stains and don't see so many stains below my gum lines?

I would go and get advice from a dentist - they may want to do a special clean under local anaesthesia (if you prefer) to get you back to a good position where you can maintain good oral hygiene by brushing twice daily and flossing once.

Prior to going to a dentist?
I am on disability so the basic dental care is covered?

No idea for Canada I'm afraid.

What does "Automatically parse links in text" mean?

Again no idea...to do with formatting of your posts

Hope this helps...finding a dentist you trust is the absolute best way to conquer this and restore your dental health.