N
neeniekitten81
Member
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2014
- Messages
- 23
Hi, I'm new here! I found this board while scaring myself silly looking for support for upcoming dentist appointment and was amazed at how comforting and helpful you all are!
Short story is, I'm 33 and hadn't been to a dentist since childhood. My family all has a history of bad teeth and I went through a time as a child where I stopped taking care of myself including my teeth. My mom never took me back to the dentist because I made such a fit about it every time it was brought up and because most of my family thinks doctors and dentists are to be avoided if at all possible. Growing up in that environment was enough on it's own to make me terrified, but on top of it, I have PTSD, gag reflex of doom, Asperger's, sensory issues, anxiety disorder, regular panic attacks, and my mouth is the most triggering place on my body. I have spent my life hiding broken teeth and pain. I have avoided the dentist even through painful abcesses and toothaches and adapted to eating in only certain areas of my mouth. I have also endured many hurtful comments on the state of my teeth.
Anyway, my best friend got me in to her dentist after promising me we could leave if I was in any way uncomfortable. They let her go back with me and I managed to get through a whole set of x-rays, despite my gag reflex and never having been able to get through even that before. The dentist and staff were wonderful with me and my teeth weren't as bad off as I thought. I expected that I would need to have them all pulled and complete dentures made, like most of my family. However, the dentist balked at that and said I actually had some really good teeth in there and he made up a treatment plan. My dentist seems really hopeful about the outcome and even said he thought, with the treatment plan, I'd be easy and back on my feet in two weeks, but I am scared out of my mind anyway.
Basically, I'm going in at 1pm next Monday. I'm getting IV sedation due to my wall of anxiety and various issues. He is going to do a scaling and root planing. Then I'm having all four wisdom teeth removed(they are partially impacted) and one upper molar(the one next to the wisdom tooth, it's the most painful and is broken at the gum, it feels like the wizzie is pushing behind it), one lower molar on each side(both broken, one at the gum and one with a hole in the middle that goes through to the gum) and all 6 of my upper front teeth(4 of which are broken almost to the gum) extracted. He is also going to fill any cavities he finds after the deep cleaning gets all the tartar out of the way as well as filling in two cavities in one of my lower molars and take impressions for my partials. Everybody around me, even the dentist, doesn't really forsee any problems and he is doing what I wanted, all of it at once while I'm sedated so I can just go home after and lick my wounds. But I'm petrified!
I'm scared of having an IV. I'm scared of reactions to the drugs or acting or feeling drunk or loopy. I'm scared of putting drugs in my body anyway and never take more than Advil. I'm scared of being aware of what's going on and unable to move. I'm afraid of choking, gagging, and not being able to swallow or breath and keep imagining all the tartar, plaque, and blood running down my throat. I'm scared of never waking up from the sedation. I'm scared of feeling pain during. I'm scared they'll hit a nerve or damage my sinuses. After years of on and off severe face pain and infections that I finally learned to live with I'm scared of setting it off again. I'm scared of hurting worse when it's over than I do now. I'm scared of how bad the post-op pain and swelling will be and how long it will take. I have all the horror stories of my childhood spinning through my head. I'm scared of how much i'll bleed after. I'm miserable at the thought of having to go without my soda(my comfort vice) during all this. I'm scared I won't be able eat after, that learning how to eat again will hurt and I'll have to force it. I'm scared my jaw will get broken or stuck open or closed. I'm scared of having a panic attack or even a heart attack during.
Please, anyone who's had anything similar, can you tell me what to expect honestly or reassure some of my fears? I feel like i'm going crazy and I want to run away from it, but I really want to have healthy, nice teeth again. I want to be able to smile without embarrassement and eat without pain. I want to stop worrying about my teeth.
Short story is, I'm 33 and hadn't been to a dentist since childhood. My family all has a history of bad teeth and I went through a time as a child where I stopped taking care of myself including my teeth. My mom never took me back to the dentist because I made such a fit about it every time it was brought up and because most of my family thinks doctors and dentists are to be avoided if at all possible. Growing up in that environment was enough on it's own to make me terrified, but on top of it, I have PTSD, gag reflex of doom, Asperger's, sensory issues, anxiety disorder, regular panic attacks, and my mouth is the most triggering place on my body. I have spent my life hiding broken teeth and pain. I have avoided the dentist even through painful abcesses and toothaches and adapted to eating in only certain areas of my mouth. I have also endured many hurtful comments on the state of my teeth.
Anyway, my best friend got me in to her dentist after promising me we could leave if I was in any way uncomfortable. They let her go back with me and I managed to get through a whole set of x-rays, despite my gag reflex and never having been able to get through even that before. The dentist and staff were wonderful with me and my teeth weren't as bad off as I thought. I expected that I would need to have them all pulled and complete dentures made, like most of my family. However, the dentist balked at that and said I actually had some really good teeth in there and he made up a treatment plan. My dentist seems really hopeful about the outcome and even said he thought, with the treatment plan, I'd be easy and back on my feet in two weeks, but I am scared out of my mind anyway.
Basically, I'm going in at 1pm next Monday. I'm getting IV sedation due to my wall of anxiety and various issues. He is going to do a scaling and root planing. Then I'm having all four wisdom teeth removed(they are partially impacted) and one upper molar(the one next to the wisdom tooth, it's the most painful and is broken at the gum, it feels like the wizzie is pushing behind it), one lower molar on each side(both broken, one at the gum and one with a hole in the middle that goes through to the gum) and all 6 of my upper front teeth(4 of which are broken almost to the gum) extracted. He is also going to fill any cavities he finds after the deep cleaning gets all the tartar out of the way as well as filling in two cavities in one of my lower molars and take impressions for my partials. Everybody around me, even the dentist, doesn't really forsee any problems and he is doing what I wanted, all of it at once while I'm sedated so I can just go home after and lick my wounds. But I'm petrified!
I'm scared of having an IV. I'm scared of reactions to the drugs or acting or feeling drunk or loopy. I'm scared of putting drugs in my body anyway and never take more than Advil. I'm scared of being aware of what's going on and unable to move. I'm afraid of choking, gagging, and not being able to swallow or breath and keep imagining all the tartar, plaque, and blood running down my throat. I'm scared of never waking up from the sedation. I'm scared of feeling pain during. I'm scared they'll hit a nerve or damage my sinuses. After years of on and off severe face pain and infections that I finally learned to live with I'm scared of setting it off again. I'm scared of hurting worse when it's over than I do now. I'm scared of how bad the post-op pain and swelling will be and how long it will take. I have all the horror stories of my childhood spinning through my head. I'm scared of how much i'll bleed after. I'm miserable at the thought of having to go without my soda(my comfort vice) during all this. I'm scared I won't be able eat after, that learning how to eat again will hurt and I'll have to force it. I'm scared my jaw will get broken or stuck open or closed. I'm scared of having a panic attack or even a heart attack during.
Please, anyone who's had anything similar, can you tell me what to expect honestly or reassure some of my fears? I feel like i'm going crazy and I want to run away from it, but I really want to have healthy, nice teeth again. I want to be able to smile without embarrassement and eat without pain. I want to stop worrying about my teeth.