• 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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Phobic

C

Christinak

Junior member
Joined
Feb 2, 2020
Messages
1
Location
Michigan
I have always had terrified of the dentist....over the years it's gotten worse. I know many people here feel the same.
Up until Thursdsy, I had 2 broken molars...Thursday another one broke :( this one is a little sensitive to brush.
I know I need to make an appointment. I know all the issues. I've had 6 others pulled over the years all for the same thing.
Generally, I will make several appointments and cancel and make another appointment , etc.
Several years ago, I thought I had found a good dentist, seemed to understand my very real fears, but tried to pass it off with humor. Everything about the dentist terrifies me.
I had gone to this amazing thought of dentist to get a tooth worked on (after canceling one time) by this time the tooth felt full of pressure and had broken.
He looked in my door... never said hi to me...and said *root canal*.
Then as he was outside of my door, he said to one of the hygienists *she only comes if shes in pain*
That wasnt the truth. I wasnt in pain at all. I came for my appointment to fill that tooth. He totally did not understand my fears and I felt humiliated and disrespected and not understood.
Granted in 52.... I should be a *big girl* I'm not. I'm terrified as if I were 2.
So when my last tooth broke , I went to an oral surgeon and bypassed the dentist. He was amazing but I was still terrified. The tooth was out quickly and as pain free as possible.
Then I went back again.... this time was different...when he injected me.... i laid there waiting for it to numb...and my heart started racing, i started getting jittery and wanted to jump out of the chair as if i was getting ready to have a panic attack. He later told me when i told him how i felt...oh that's cause the numbing med had epiniphrene in it.
I dont want or like that feeling. I'd rather have a second shot of stuff then something with that in it.
Now... i have two bottom teeth next to each other ...the molar and one before it that are broken on the inside of the mouth to the gum line (like all my teeth seem to do) the other side looks like the tooth is whole but it's not.
All this to say, I'm terrified.
I dont know why I'm so terrified. I dont like people in my proximity..not in my face...my dad used to threaten me and tell me dentists and drs would keep me and a host of other things. I'm not really looking for a cause...but are there really dentists who do more than say they cater to cowards? I'm embarrassed to say to a dentist exactly how afraid I am. It's not just a fear. It's a true phobia.
 
Hi @Christinak,
Welcome to DFC! :grouphug:
I am very sorry to read about your past experiences over the years. One thing that I have learned is that dental phobia (as with all phobias) has no age restrictions. Telling someone that they are too old to be afraid of the dentist is equivalent to telling someone they are too old of being afraid to fly (lots of people of all ages are afraid to fly but nobody judges them...the same should go for fear of dentists). To answer your question, yes there are many wonderful dentists out there who do talk the talk and walk the walk when it comes to treating anxious patients. We even have a few friendly dentists who lurk around here to help answer clinical questions. It may be encouraging to read some of the journals and success stories on the forum. We also have a section on the forum for members to recommend dentists in their area so you could take a look there and see if any fellow phobics have found and recommend a good dentist near you. You are definitely not alone in your feelings and this place is very supportive no matter where you are in your journey. Feel free to vent or ask questions here as much as you like while you figure out your next step. You are very brave just in posting here and sharing your feelings.
 
Ditto on all that KitKat said - yes there are dentists who do truly listen and do everything they can to help you with your teeth and accommodate your phobia. Many times there is no direct cause of a phobia, so don’t stress yourself too much right now about that. Remember you are in control - you are paying for a service. If you are not receiving the service you’re comfortable with then you can leave. As for being embarrassed to discuss things with the dentist... hopefully you can find a dentist that you’re more at ease and can open up about that. It’s so very important they know how you feel. If you sense that they don’t seem to care, again - leave. Those 5 or 10 minutes of embarrassment will mean nothing once you get past it and start receiving the help and care you need.
 
Christinak,

Welcome to DFC!! We are glad you are here! reading your post I get why you are anxious for many reasons.. first off

He looked in my door... never said hi to me...and said *root canal*.
Then as he was outside of my door, he said to one of the hygienists *she only comes if shes in pain*
That wasnt the truth. I wasnt in pain at all. I came for my appointment to fill that tooth. He totally did not understand my fears and I felt humiliated and disrespected and not understood.

I would feel the same way.. This would not help at all and I'm so sorry this happened to you!! I really hope you can find a dentist that will treat you with compassion!! and really understand your fear, no matter what age.. I am 50 and I know there are surely those older than I..

Also the thing with the Epinephrine and shot. I totally get this , it happened to me recently I felt this way with a shot.. I felt like jittery, dizzy, and heart pounding.. it doesn't always happend. so next time I'm really going to try to remember the other times.. what did help was my dentist was empatheitc and kind through it.. and helped me through it in a nice way.

I just really hope you can find someone kind to help with your anxiety through this.
 
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