• Dental Phobia Support

    Welcome! This is an online support group for anyone who is has a severe fear of the dentist or dental treatment. Please note that this is NOT a general dental problems or health anxiety forum! You can find a list of them here.

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New here, long term abscess.

K

Karli

Junior member
Joined
Mar 12, 2018
Messages
11
First of all let me start by saying I have horrendously weak and horrible teeth. I have been having dental work since I was three and I never ever been to the dentist in my nearly 30 years of life and got a ‘all good, come back in 6 months’

I have had every dental procedure you can possibly think off braces, which had to come off as teeth were too weak, teeth out, wisdom teeth out, root canals, removable braces, painting, drilling, the whole shebang. When I was 16 although my teeth were utterly shit I said no more. I never liked the dentist but wasn’t afraid. I didn’t go to the dentist until I was 20 and I developed my first abscess when I was pregnant in upper tooth which was horrendous and I would rather give birth. I had that root canal filled and a fake tooth on it.

I then had very little done until two years later when I was pregnant with my son. Another tooth broke when I was brushing them and I ended up having that out too. Along with a real deep clean.

My teeth have gone down hill since then and that was 7 years ago. 2 years ago I was pregnant with my third baby and so many of my teeth just broke. One has broke and rotted to the gun line but has never caused me any issues. Top one on the other side to my crown has now got a lot of decay and the one same said at the very back. All my teeth at the back are receding and my gums are shot.
I do brush every day and use a mouth wash.

The tooth I’m worried about is bottom one which again broke when I was pregnant and I went to have it out.
When I went I had a swollen face and the dentist just wanted to putt it with no antibiotics before hand. When I went back three days later he gave me about 12 injections and I could still feel it.

So I told him to leave it.

Ever since then I have extreme anxiety about the dentist. I need this tooth out. It has had an abscess in it for over a year. It’s painless but I know it’s accessed as I have a pimple on my gum (which by the way has no pus in? If it pops there is only ever blood?) but I cannot do it. I went a few weeks ago after building up the courage for 6 months, the dentist took one look in my mouth told me I need to come back for an extensive assessment as there was ‘so much decay’. And I need x,y, z teeth out.

I have cancelled two appts since then. I just can’t bring myself to go. I’m paranoid this is giving me heart problems, or it will give me sepsis. But I still can’t bring myself to go. It keeps me awake at night, I woke up at 3.40 this morning having a panic attack. I suffer terribly with anxiety and panic I just can’t deal with it.

Has anyone got any advice. I’m not sure what to do. I hate my dentist but can’t get to another, I’m not sure how to face this. Being sedated scares me more than being awake, I hate to not feel in control.

I sound like such a baby. But this is eating me up inside :(
 
First of all let me start by saying I have horrendously weak and horrible teeth. I have been having dental work since I was three and I never ever been to the dentist in my nearly 30 years of life and got a ‘all good, come back in 6 months’

I have had every dental procedure you can possibly think off braces, which had to come off as teeth were too weak, teeth out, wisdom teeth out, root canals, removable braces, painting, drilling, the whole shebang. When I was 16 although my teeth were utterly shit I said no more. I never liked the dentist but wasn’t afraid. I didn’t go to the dentist until I was 20 and I developed my first abscess when I was pregnant in upper tooth which was horrendous and I would rather give birth. I had that root canal filled and a fake tooth on it.

I then had very little done until two years later when I was pregnant with my son. Another tooth broke when I was brushing them and I ended up having that out too. Along with a real deep clean.

My teeth have gone down hill since then and that was 7 years ago. 2 years ago I was pregnant with my third baby and so many of my teeth just broke. One has broke and rotted to the gun line but has never caused me any issues. Top one on the other side to my crown has now got a lot of decay and the one same said at the very back. All my teeth at the back are receding and my gums are shot.
I do brush every day and use a mouth wash.

The tooth I’m worried about is bottom one which again broke when I was pregnant and I went to have it out.
When I went I had a swollen face and the dentist just wanted to putt it with no antibiotics before hand. When I went back three days later he gave me about 12 injections and I could still feel it.

So I told him to leave it.

Ever since then I have extreme anxiety about the dentist. I need this tooth out. It has had an abscess in it for over a year. It’s painless but I know it’s accessed as I have a pimple on my gum (which by the way has no pus in? If it pops there is only ever blood?) but I cannot do it. I went a few weeks ago after building up the courage for 6 months, the dentist took one look in my mouth told me I need to come back for an extensive assessment as there was ‘so much decay’. And I need x,y, z teeth out.

I have cancelled two appts since then. I just can’t bring myself to go. I’m paranoid this is giving me heart problems, or it will give me sepsis. But I still can’t bring myself to go. It keeps me awake at night, I woke up at 3.40 this morning having a panic attack. I suffer terribly with anxiety and panic I just can’t deal with it.

Has anyone got any advice. I’m not sure what to do. I hate my dentist but can’t get to another, I’m not sure how to face this. Being sedated scares me more than being awake, I hate to not feel in control.

I sound like such a baby. But this is eating me up inside :(

I want to reach out and extend a warm welcome to you and reassure you that you don’t sound like a baby, and you are certainly not alone. This is a very good and comforting site to be, as only those who have experienced this type of fear can possibly relate to it in a personal level. There are all sorts of stories about triumph and overcoming those fears even if it’s just for long enough to be sedated to get the a work done. Any one who comes here to share is brave and taking the first important step: admitting there is an issue. You can find my story in the journal section, like you I went through a lot as child with poor dentist experiences and spent a long time away from the dentist dealing with abscess and other conditions on my own. I will agree with you that mouth pain is absolutely worse than giving birth. I tell dentists that and they think I’m kidding, but I assure them I am not.

It did take a long time for me to make and keep appointments with a dentist and I had to go through a few bad eggs until I found the right dentist for me. I know you had said that you can’t go to any other dentist but I’m wondering if this is absolutely the case? Having a dentist that is familiar with anxious patients can make a world of difference in treatment and how they design a care plan for you. Does your dentist know how fearful and uncomfortable you are? I know it can be difficult to talk about your feelings but mentioning your anxiety is an important step in the process as well as letting the dentist know what your limits are and the pace you are comfortable with.
 
Hi Karli,

sorry to hear about your situation and particularly sorry to hear about your dentist.. telling you that there was 'so much decay' sounds very unsensitive and for a nervous patient inappropriate. If you hate your dentist, it's no surprise you have a hard time going back. After all, you are supposed to trust the diagnoosis he gives you and also trust that he will be able to do the procedure and that he won't traumatize you. And your dentist already proved that you cannot trust him.

So as Anxious76 suggests, I would like to encourage you to look for an another dentist.

This is what a very kind dentist recently told me about dental phobia being different to the most other phobias:

1) It is the only fear that is directly linked to an another person - the dentist
2) It is a realistic fear - the things people are afraid of (pain, judgment, not getting numb etc.) could happen when having the wrong dentist

So this is again, why you shouldn't allow to be treated by someone you feel this uncomfortable with. By the way - it's not only about a treatment you need right now. After the teeth are out, you will need regular check ups and cleanings to keep your teeth healthy long term. You don't want to stop going for years out of fear again. For this reason it is important to have a dentist who can provide you with positive experience so that you will be able to come back.

All the best wishes and keep us posted
 
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