New here and so glad I found you - Canadian girl

[HlynneF]

Hi all

I am in Canada and due to several bad dental experiences as a child and a couple as a young adult, I am now have fully developed dental anxiety. I have been reading this site and it is such a relief to read that what is going on in my head is not unusual and many of the common fears gave me lightbulb moments.

Control, smell, fear of pain, fear of being overwhelmed, fear of being lectured or reprimanded.

My last official dental appointment ended in a series of appointments. I managed to get through a cleaning and some tooth repair. Once the dentist started talking about a root canal on temporary filling she had just put in and how we could just extract the 4 wisdom teeth easily, I made up my mind there. Not coming back. To this day I have my temporary filling with no obvious problems. What makes me sad is that the dentist started out knowing I was nervous and made me feel really comfortable....on the first appt. Then on the second, she took care to numb the area where the needle went in.... then on the third appt. all bets were off and it was like she forgot everying thing we had talked about. Not good.

So I guess I now have trust issues to add into my mix. So after this long winded post, I have now decided it is time to take care of my health.

I have researched out a local dentist on rate my MD sites. I have checked out their promotoional material and found it comforting and appealing to me. I have sent my boyfriend there for his dental work and has come back with glowing reviews....now I am running out of excuses. LOL

How do I make the initial call without throwing up, and letting them know how nervous I am? It is embarrassing and my heart knows they will be totally understanding, but my head says they are writing CRAZY in red on my chart. To make matters worse, I am being pressured by my boyfriend to call and I he just doesn't get it.

Thanks for existing, the relief I feel just knowing there are people who "get it" is awesome.

H.

 

[shamrockerin]

My last official dental appointment ended in a series of appointments. I managed to get through a cleaning and some tooth repair. Once the dentist started talking about a root canal on temporary filling she had just put in and how we could just extract the 4 wisdom teeth easily, I made up my mind there. Not coming back. To this day I have my temporary filling with no obvious problems. What makes me sad is that the dentist started out knowing I was nervous and made me feel really comfortable....on the first appt. Then on the second, she took care to numb the area where the needle went in.... then on the third appt. all bets were off and it was like she forgot everying thing we had talked about. Not good.

Hi HLynneF, and welcome to the forum!

I am glad that reading the many stories on here is making you feel better. It is really hard to even start the process of searching for the right dentist, let alone actually make it to the appointment. many of us on here have trust issues with dentists, mainly due to bad experiences we had. I know what you mean in your above paragraph, and unfortunately it's not the first time I've heard it, and I have had this experience myself.

It's not as if a dental phobic goes through one appointment and is magically cured, even with a great dentist. It takes time. I know that there are many dentists out there who consider themselves patient and understanding, but I hope they realize that it's not enough to be patient and understanding just during the initial meeting, it needs to continue throughout the treatment plan in order to build up any trust. You did not do anything wrong, and I am glad you decided not go back once you didn't feel comfortable anymore.

I hope you'll keep reading and posting, and let us all offer encouragement and support to you. We know how difficult it is because we've all been there. Feel free to post as much as you need to- I've done it often enough and people are always happy to help.