• 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, overwhelmed...defeated.

B

BugsMom

Junior member
Joined
Nov 13, 2014
Messages
1
Hi everyone, so thankful I stumbled across this forum. I know there's likely little anyone can say or do to help but I'm happy to be here among people who understand.

Before I starts, I should say my story I'd probably pretty horrifying and those who are having a hard time coping might not want to read any further.

I never really had any issues with my teeth until I reached my 30s. At the age of 29 I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and subsequently developed IBS and migraines, all of which I started taking various medications for. I don't know if the medications all started to affect my teeth, but things all went downhill fast in my 30s. I ended up seeing one dentist, who had me in the chair for three hours for a root canal. The novocaine didnt work properly and the pain was so intense. He somehow got one of my lips trapped in an instrument and ripped it open, dripping blood everywhere. When I finally stood up, I passed out and fell to the floor. Needless to say, I was so afraid to go back, I neglected it for three years.

I finally was forced to go again, but found a new dentist through a chamber of commerce type group I was in. He worked on a bunch of teeth, putting in fillings. But, I had three teeth that hurt sooo bad, I could hardly stand it. He insisted on root canals, trying to save them but they weren't able to be saved. After several weeks I to l d him I just wanted them pulled. They were painful, I couldn't eat and they weren't healing. He finally pulled them. Two healed up nicely but the upper one was even worse than before. I cant even describe the pain. Several times I went there and he would just numb my face up to give me some relief. Then he decided I must have a dry socket and he attempted to treat me for that. When that didn't work, he sent me to an oral surgeon. He determined that the dentist did the root canal and pulled the tooth without realizing the roots of my tooth extended into my sinuses. There was on opening from my mouth right into my sinuses for the last two months allowing all that bacteria in. The oral surgeon scheduled surgery right away to pull tissue over from the inside of my cheek and close the hole. I had tight stitches back and forth across the roof of my mouth for weeks.

Because of all the bacteria introduced into my sinuses while the hole was open in my mouth, I was next referred to an Ear Nose and Throat Doctor. He determined I needed another surgery to clean out all the dead and infected tissue caused by the opening. He scheduled a surgery known as a Caldwell Luc procedure. They actually drilled a hole above my front teeth in order to get to my sinuses to clean them out, and also subsequently found a cyst that had formed from all this, which they removed. This was probably the most painful thing I've ever endured. The surgery site took months and months to heal after numerous infections. I lived on yogurt and hot cereal the entire time because solid food was impossible to eat. It was probably the darkest time in my life, one infection after another, always on antibiotics, sick from them, pain every day. No desire to l leave my house, see anyone, talk to anyone.

If all this wasn't bad enough, I was a complete idiot and went back to the denti s when the tooth next to the ones I had the surgery on went bad. He said I needed a root canal and I agreed. I'm still astounded that this even happened, and wish I could kick my own ass for going there, but he punctured my sinuses a second time. In the middle of the procedure I suddenly started tasting and smelling something that was very bleach like. Apparently it's a solution used to rinse during the root canal. Suddenly the pain was almost blinding and I was crying. I made him stop and ran out, never looking back. I have nightmares about that day, about the burning and choking.

It took three more years but I finally went back to the dentist. Everything is a mess. My sinuses are again leaking into my mouth. They pulled three teeth and sewed that area up. Now I need two more pulled, they say. Plus all these other root canals. My "treatment plan" just for root canals is over $22,000.

I just don't even know if I'm in the right place or if people are just trying to take advantage of some traumatized woman. I obviously need to see oral surgeons, ear nose and throat doctors and dentist and have everyone work together. I even called out to California to ask that dentist from extreme makeover just to give me the name of a good practice that has a whole team. I got a reply saying they can't give makeovers to everyone that asks!!! I'm tired of not knowing if these people are good or bad. I've seen the bad and have $17,000+ in bills already to prove it.

I'm so sorry to ramble on an on. I'm just so desperate. I just want to feel better, get rid of the pain, the bleeding, the headaches, not to mention, all the embarrassment from how bad my teeth are now. Facing more surgeries and procedures has me feeling so sick and scared. Anyway, thank you to anyone who read all this.
 
BugsMom,
what a terrible ordeal you've endured. I'm not surprised you feel overwhelmed, anyone would in your situation. I think you've been very brave to keep going back to the dentist and trying to get help.
I've had a lot of problems myself with failed root canals, and I have lupus. So, I can't help wondering if the fibro is involved in some way with your dental pain. I know the dentist and rheumatologist told me there's no connection, but my dental roblems didn't start until after I was diagnosed with lupus, so I'm not convinced that they're right.
Wish I could say something to help. I do know how you're feeling.
 
Hi :welcome: to the forum.

I cringed reading your story I too think you are really brave for going back for treatment. No wonder you are terrified of going back, anyone would be. This should not have happened and I think a good place for you to start could be a specialist at a hospital maybe. I am in the UK and I don't know how you would proceed to get treatment.

Or could your family doctor help in recommending where you could go. I am so sorry that I haven't got some better help or advice for you.

Hopefully someone will be along that can point you in the right direction, we do get some dentists on here and they may be able to help with the best place to go. There are also a lot of very experienced lay people on here too that have a lot of knowledge.

All the best to you, let us know how you get on please. In the meantime we are here to offer you support and listen to your worries, it helps to get things off your chest and you are among people that understand how you feel. :butterfly:
 
I'm sorry to hear that you've had such a terrible experience with your dental work! I can't imagine going through what you have. My dental phobia isn't rooted in any specific experiences, as far as I can see, but it manages to make life pretty difficult, nonetheless. As a musician with only part-time work and no health or dental insurance, getting dental treatment has been really tricky, and add dental phobia into the equation, and it's even worse. I've actually had a great experience with my treatment, though, and have been able to afford the treatment I need, while feeling like my dentist isn't cutting any corners. Not sure where you live, but it sounds like your somewhere in the US, like me (I'm in Portland, OR). When I couldn't stand living with my teeth feeling so bad anymore, I called the local medical/dental school in town, and made an urgent care appointment, as I wasn't sure what work needed to be done. I was seen within 48 hours of making the call, and was assigned to a fantastic dental student. So far, I've had five appointments there, each lasting 2-3 hours (things take longer, as you have to wait for a supervising dentist to check over any work that's being done, and to sign off on treatment plans, but I like this, as it makes me feel more secure to know that the work is being double-checked), and the total cost has been about $400, including one quadrant of deep cleaning, an initial exam, extensive x-rays, prescription mouthwash, a consult with an endodontist, and a full-mouth debridement. My dentist also sat me down early on and made a comprehensive plan for continued care, so that I know what my options are as far as managing pain and anxiety at the dentist; she actually spent nearly an hour talking through exactly what makes me nervous at the dentist, and helping me come up with ideas for combating that at appointments (having a blanket and pillow, listening to an MP3 player for distraction, etc.). The care I've received has been, without exception, excellent--so much so, that my mom made an cleaning appointment at the school's clinic on my recommendation. Because I'm being treated at a school that trains students in radiology, endodontics, orthodontics, etc., it's easy for my dentist to refer me to other departments if I need a specialist. I also feel like I'm getting access to a lot of new technology, and am benefitting from a more modern approach to dentistry; the whole attitude there is very different from the doctor-patient, slightly patronizing way I remember the dentist offices of my childhood being run.
Hope this helps, BugsMom. I'm sending good thoughts your way!
 
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