• 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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Off I go...

  • Thread starter Thread starter frostgirl
  • Start date Start date
Frostgirl,

You are doing great and I fully believe you will be so fine, however remember it is so normal to still be a little nervous, and as you get to know them more and feel more and more comfortable the less anxiousyou may be. :) I knew my dentist for 2 years and loved him before he left but was still nervous everytime,just to a lesser and lesser degree.. also depending on what we were doing and how long it had been between appts.
 
I second every word krlovesherkids777 said.

For some reasons, people who have been scared of the dentist for ages assume that one or two positive experiences would make the fear disappear and then they sometimes get discouraged and full of self-doubts when finding out it is not the case. Those things really need time. The fact that your teeth are healthy and therefore you need to see your dentist only every 6 months, is working a bit against you here.

There is no such thing as "realistic" or not. How you feel is simply how you feel and that's ok. If you can, allow yourself to go with the waves and honor whatever feeling is there.

Fingers crossed for your appointment, do let us know how it went :)
 
Thank you both of you.

I am starting to feel a bit more nervous now, and I know that this is just part of the process.

I seem to be constantly worried and paranoid that I have chipped or broken one of my teeth. I know this is not normal and I need to stop overthinking every time I eat something a bit hard :shame:
 
Nervousness is very normal! I have been with my dentist for 16 years and after many lovely experiences, I still get nervous! The difference for me is that I used to stay nervous the whole time I was there now I usually relax once I see my dentist because I know that I am in good hands. Usually I will relax a few minutes into treatment starting and am fine the rest of the time as long as all goes smoothly. You’ve got this!
 
Thanks Kitkat, I do hope I can reach that point some day. I know my appointment on Friday should go alright, but I still probably will be nervous the whole time I'm there. Thanks again
 
Panic is starting to set in now. Oh god. My appointment is in Friday morning. I can't believe I'm actually going to go to it.
 
The waiting really is the worst part of this whole process to endure. You are nearly there...once you get into the office you will be over that hurdle and smooth sailing! Hang in there a little longer! :XXLhug: I look forward to reading how well things go. In a few more hours, you will be wondering why you were so worried. Be extra kind to yourself today.
 
Thanks Kitkat, I'll definitely update after my appointment tomorrow. But your right, waiting is the hardest bit. Once I'm at the office and in the door, I think I'll start to settle bit slightly. I've just got to get myself there tomorrow and then I'll be fine, I think. I'm starting to panic a bit slightly but I'm feeling alright :thumbsup:
 
I'll be thinking of you tomrorow @frostgirl !! I think sometimes the worst is the drive over to getting in the door then it settles down for me.. Hope it all goes great!! :grouphug:
 
Thinking of you frostgirl, may all go well today! Hope you were able to get some sleep.
 
I did manage to get some sleep, Enarete, but I kept on waking up a lot of times.

Nerves are starting to kick in a bit more now :o

Will update later after my appointment in a few hours time.
 
I did it! Woop, woop! :yay:

I knew once I got there I would start to settle down a bit more but it was nice to not feel as nervous as I did last time. My cleaning went great, and then I did have to sit and wait for a bit, which did make my nerves go up a little bit. My check up went well as well, my nerves were at a lower level than last time. No problems at all, so I'll be back in 6 months time.

It felt so nice to be actually be able to chat with them all, instead of being only able to give short replies because I'm so nervous.

All that worrying was for nothing ?
 
Lockdown is giving me too much time with my thoughts. I feel like my appointment in August could be pushed back a bit because of Covid-19. My dentist has just opened back up today for emergencies I think, based on their last email update. I'm not feeling too worried overall about it possibly being pushed back. I'd rather wait until its a bit more safer to go. The infection rate is still too high atm so I don't mind waiting till its at a lot lower level.

I was thinking of asking about what my options would be to sort out my crooked teeth. I can fake being confident when I smile but it does get me down. A lot. I finally feel like I want to see what my options are. I wouldn't be rushing into treatment, I just want to see what my options are. I would love to have straight teeth one day, a girl can dream. I feel like it would be a bit weird to want to get braces but be nervous at the thought of going to the dentist ?
 
frostgirl said:
Lockdown is giving me too much time with my thoughts. I feel like my appointment in August could be pushed back a bit because of Covid-19. My dentist has just opened back up today for emergencies I think, based on their last email update. I'm not feeling too worried overall about it possibly being pushed back. I'd rather wait until its a bit more safer to go. The infection rate is still too high atm so I don't mind waiting till its at a lot lower level.

I was thinking of asking about what my options would be to sort out my crooked teeth. I can fake being confident when I smile but it does get me down. A lot. I finally feel like I want to see what my options are. I wouldn't be rushing into treatment, I just want to see what my options are. I would love to have straight teeth one day, a girl can dream. I feel like it would be a bit weird to want to get braces but be nervous at the thought of going to the dentist ?
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frostgirl! We are two girls just dreaming together. Two girls nervous of going to the dentist but also want straight teeth. :) I feel so much less alone! I just had my second checkup since my 16-17 year leave of absence. All good (though he is going to fix a filling he did last time because I’m having issues with it). I went during COVID (well, my March and April appointment were cancelled, but they kept my June one). There were a lot of precautions in place and I felt very safe there in regards to a virus risk and my state is one of the top in the U.S. August is still far off and I see the infections declining over summer and picking up at the end of December.

I have been looking at orthodontists in my area. They specialize in aligning teeth. For nervous people like myself, it has been very helpful read reviews and go through websites. It’s like starting at square 1... like when I was looking at my dentist. Your dentist will probably have a recommended ortho, although I looked at who mine recommended and wasn’t satisfied with their braces options. I’m definitely looking at braces behind the upper teeth (lingual) and clear on the bottom and I found a place near me with awesome reviews that does both. I have gotten so far to look at appointment times on their website. I feel like now is a good time because we are wearing masks most of the time anyway, haha. Anyway, we can dream of straight teeth together. :) I know what you mean about faking confidence.
 
thisisme, hopefully we can one day both have straight smiles!

I did read something the other day saying it could be a long time before routine appointments happen in the UK. I was looking at a website for an orthodontist near me the other day and it did have their new policy for patients arriving for appointments on the front page, and it did seem reassuring slightly. No sitting around waiting at least, that would be a good thing if every place followed that.

A mask would be a good cover for braces though.

I know my dentist does offer Invisalign & Fast Braces but I would want to go to an orthodontist. I will talk to them and ask for their advice, they might even say it might be better to go to an orthodontist. If my appointment does still go ahead in August, on whenever it gets pushed back to, I'll definitely talk to them about it.
 
frostgirl said:
thisisme, hopefully we can one day both have straight smiles!

I did read something the other day saying it could be a long time before routine appointments happen in the UK. I was looking at a website for an orthodontist near me the other day and it did have their new policy for patients arriving for appointments on the front page, and it did seem reassuring slightly. No sitting around waiting at least, that would be a good thing if every place followed that.

A mask would be a good cover for braces though.

I know my dentist does offer Invisalign & Fast Braces but I would want to go to an orthodontist. I will talk to them and ask for their advice, they might even say it might be better to go to an orthodontist. If my appointment does still go ahead in August, on whenever it gets pushed back to, I'll definitely talk to them about it.
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I’m based in the US. Practices started opening middle of May for routine cleanings and such. They have curbside check in where they take your temp and make you fill out a form about COVID. Then you wear a mask and walk straight into the chair. It’s definitely nice to not have to wait in the waiting room, though.

That’s awesome that your dentist offers options. Mine does Invisalign but there would be no way I was a candidate. My eye teeth never came fully down. I hate it! ? Hopefully you’ll have your appointment in September and you can discuss your options. As much as I like quick options, I’ve heard (and take it with a grain of salt) that sometimes quicker solutions focus on aesthetics and longer solution focus on bite and other less noticeable things. I sometimes watch braces videos (like a nerd!) and more often than not, you see smiles drastically straighten in 3-4 months and the rest of the time is bite correction. That’s so encouraging that if I did get lingual braces, my top teeth could look close to aligned in like four months. Ahhhh! We need to work together so I can pull the trigger and get a consult.
 
frostgirl said:
A lot. I finally feel like I want to see what my options are. I wouldn't be rushing into treatment, I just want to see what my options are. I would love to have straight teeth one day, a girl can dream. I feel like it would be a bit weird to want to get braces but be nervous at the thought of going to the dentist ?
Click to expand...

Glad to read you finally feel ready and curious enough to get some input about braces. You shall have the smile you wish for and dentistry offers so many possibilities nowadays. I don't think that feeling nervous at the thought of going to the dentist is a contradiction to that. Big dreams are allowed to be a bit scary :)

Hope dentistry in UK moves forward soon, I see your worries about your appointment in August.
 
I don't know whether I'm overreacting because I'm worrying about things, but my wisdom tooth on the bottom right, which has been partially through for a few years, was sore for a few days last week and I could taste blood in the area. After a few days, it's appeared to come through a bit more. Uncomfortable but fine. But this week, I don't know if I've burned the inside of my mouth next to it, I think that's the most likely thing, but it's been sore next to it and in my jaw bone near it all week. There's a little white blister like what I get when I've burnt my mouth in the past, but I'm so worried somethings wrong. It feels like a tight knot of discomfort in my jaw near it, and I'm terrified I have an infection or something. I think I'm overreacting because there's no swelling at all.

I don't know whether to get in touch with my dentist and see what they say, or whether I should try to stop worrying and see what happens.
 
frostgirl said:
I don't know whether I'm overreacting because I'm worrying about things, but my wisdom tooth on the bottom right, which has been partially through for a few years, was sore for a few days last week and I could taste blood in the area. After a few days, it's appeared to come through a bit more. Uncomfortable but fine. But this week, I don't know if I've burned the inside of my mouth next to it, I think that's the most likely thing, but it's been sore next to it and in my jaw bone near it all week. There's a little white blister like what I get when I've burnt my mouth in the past, but I'm so worried somethings wrong. It feels like a tight knot of discomfort in my jaw near it, and I'm terrified I have an infection or something. I think I'm overreacting because there's no swelling at all.

I don't know whether to get in touch with my dentist and see what they say, or whether I should try to stop worrying and see what happens.
Click to expand...

I’m not a doctor but I don’t think you have an infection. Us phobics tend to think the worst but if there’s no swelling and it’s just sore, that sounds very normal to me. As someone who still has their wisdom teeth, I experienced some discomfort and soreness when two of mine came in. I was always too afraid to look in my mouth, but I could feel tenderness and it felt red. I have one partially through and every once and awhile, it feels like it’s coming through more and more. I take some Tylenol and try to forget about it and the discomfort usually stops. I hope it is feeling better now.

Not sure about the white blister but it could be a coincidence.

You can always call your dentist and they can advise more. They are the professionals! My post is just from experience and hopefully eases your worries a bit. ?
 
I think I'm that stressed out by my job that it's making me panicky about everything. It feels a lot better today and I think realistically I must have burnt my mouth. Thank you though, I do appreciate your wisdom. I needed to vent and I think it helped by getting my worries off my chest. I was worrying about my wisdom tooth, and worried that I would have to ring or visit my dentist which I don't really want to do as I'm still a bit concerned about Covid (I know I would be fine and that they will have policies in place to ensure their and my safety). Argh.
 
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