Phobia? even this website terrifies me.....please someone help...

[thebam135]

Hi, i hope you can help me! My name is Tom, im 36 years old and i hope someone can help......



It had been 15 years since i ran away from the dentist, it has also been 13 years since i have eaten any food on the right hand side of my mouth.I have forgotten what life is like without having toothache, and abcesses.Finaly while at work an abcess burst and needed to go to see a dentist.I fainted, rushed to doctors who told me i had taken a panic attack.After going back to see the dentist with gentle persuasion from my better half (stood in front of the door so i couldnt escape) the dentist agreed that my phobia was in the extreme and she referred me to the hospital.
Today was my appointment, was very nervous (understated) had x ray and the consultant explained that i needed to have alot of teeth pulled, i told him that i need to have them all taken away, simply because i will not ever return to the dentist if the remaining teeth are left and i would be back at square one.To have no teeth at all for me personally would be life changing like you cannot imagine.To have waited fifteen years to pluck up the courage to even go there and be told that no we wont take them all out has left me feeling very upset.After a lengthy lecture on how expensive a general is and they dont normally do this, and having to refuse sedation three times (i could never do it) he agreed to allow me to go under general, and insisted that it would be up to the surgeon on the day to decide if the rest can go!........I was standing in the corner of the room so the extent of my fear was plain to see and somewhat embarrassingly so for myself.
Is there anything i can do to ensure they extract all of them?.........perhaps speaking to my dentist? could she help.......I am in serious need of advice....thank you so much for thaking the time to read my plea......Tam.

 

[carole]

Hi Tom welcome to the forum.

I understand exactly where you are coming from. I am 57 years old and I have been terrified of going to the dentist all my life due to childhood experiences and a few as an adult. Like you I have in the past begged and pleaded for them to take all my teeth out. I just wanted to have false teeth so that I would never have to see a dentist again or suffer any pain from my teeth.

After spending a large amount of my life wanting them to just remove my teeth, I now will go to any lengths to keep the teeth I have. What changed for me was I found a dentist that had the patience of a saint and gave me the confidence in him to allow him to treat a very badly infected tooth. He was so calm, non judgemental, patient and made me feel that he would stop if things got too much for me without being annoyed. He also gave me time and talked to me without doing any treatment. He took things slowly and I felt no pain at any time while he was treating me.

I would really consider if you do want false teeth or if you really need to find a dentist that will move at a pace that you can cope with. Also one that will understand how you feel and how afraid you are and show you the understanding and patience I was lucky enough to get from mine at the time.

When you have full dentures you still need to got to see a dentist because part of a check up is them checking your mouth for changes and making sure that your gums, with or without teeth, are healthy. It takes time to get used to the dentures and the first set you get is not the final set that you end up with. The first set are the ones that will shape your gums after extraction and while your gums shrink and settle down these teeth will be altered a few times. After roughly 6 months to a year they will take more expressions for your final set of teeth. You will in a few years need the dentures to be replaced as they wear down over time.

Do you know what you are afraid of, I thought I was frightened of everything but once I was talking to the dentist we got to the bottom of my fear and he addressed all my concerns. I also came on this site a lot and learnt so much. I found ignorance wasn't bliss but too much and scary information wasn't any good either. This site explains things in a nice and not scary kinda way and I found that the more I understood things and talked to dentists it has taken away a lot of the mystery. I thought I couldn't face knowing anything and there are still things I have to deal with but I can now go to see my dentist without the terrible sickly fear and terror I used to go with.

I hope this helps you a bit, you are not alone we all on here understand how you are feeling and you are not alone there is a whole load of us on here that thought we were the only ones.

 

[thebam135]

Thanks for your kind words.I contacted my dentist to see if there was anything she could do, right now i have abcess on lower left, probably get them every few weeks.....had more anti bio's from dentist.....wish i could just go to sleep and wake up with no teeth ;o(.Im just waiting now on my appointment to go into hospital for my G.A......first time ever.....needles, teeth, metal things god im falling apart over this.Tired of being in constant pain.Was so afraid i adopted my own ways to get rid of toothache by sucking so hard it pops!, bleeds and pressure is gone.2:27am and cant sleep.all i can think about is will they take them all out or am i going to have to go through this in another 15 years.....stop being a pussy.Feel angry at myself, got a full sleeve tattoo on my arm so why does this rule my life lol....the consultant agreed that any teeth likely to cause me problems in the next five years can go, you guys on here know as well as i do that in the deepest of toothache give me the pliers ill pull them myself ;o).
Hopefully this will be over soon...at least before i get blood poisoning from constant bloomin abcesses!
Thanks guys