Please find me a dentist

[wits end]

Thank you brit and scaredinthechi,

The wait is dreadful isn't it?

I woke in the early hours of this morning in absolute terror and didn't get back to sleep again. It takes me right back to my earlier years when I needed a tooth removed, one time I travelled for miles with a raging toothache to see a dentist, I smelt the gas when I was half way up the stairs and fled the building. Thank goodness that the rubbery smelling gas mask which they strapped over the mouth and nose is not used anymore.

It was drummed into me from an early age from my parents and friends that I must opt for being put to sleep via gas mask rather than the LA.

There were so many stories in the olden days about them feeling the tooth being pulled and also some of the teeth were left there after being partly pulled out. One of my friends who died this year still had a tooth in that was partly pulled from years and years ago.

 

[wits end]

I go today for the extractions and am absolutely terrified. I have had days and nights of hell with worry over this. My face is bright red, pulse racing and feeling very sick. I don't feel I can face this whilst I'm awake, nor do I feel like I dare go for IV. What can I do?
Bear in mind please that I suffer from panic attacks and have been on treatment now for agoraphobia for many years. I've had agoraphobia for over 40 years now but go out to most places with the help of my husband.
My dentist has made a 40 minute appointment for me, he says that I will manage things, but how can he know this when I don't.

 

[brit]

My dentist has made a 40 minute appointment for me, he says that I will manage things, but how can he know this when I don't.

Because you have already coped so well with fillings etc...without sedation.....you have a generous time slot so that's good, you can try to relax in situ, calm down, ask any questions then get started......I think once you get there, especially once you have been greeted in a friendly manner and had chance to relax back on the 'sofa', you will feel more calm. It's perfectly normal to feel nervous though.
Removing teeth tends to be much quicker than fillings and there are no handpiece noises usually.
Yes it is a big deal because you are losing a tooth but the actual process of achieving that is not so bad....maybe discuss doing just one extraction or seeing how you go depending where they are in your mouth...if all together you may be better off being numbed once and getting them all done in one go.

I'm sure you can do it...with your husband's and your dentist's help and support.
Best wishes

 

[wits end]

Thank you for your quick response brit. I feel easier now because you are always right about me. The story goes that the 3 teeth the dentist will be removing today are hardly in the gums, about 1mm I think even though 2 are wizzies, both he and the hospital showed me the x rays and said to take the 3 out in one go. The dentist tells me it will take him about 3 minutes in all. They are pretty sure that there will not be a problem with these 3 even though I have been on Bisphosphonates in the past.

I really dont want him to show me the pliers or the extracted teeth.

 

[brit]

Thank you for your quick response brit. I feel easier now because you are always right about me. The story goes that the 3 teeth the dentist will be removing today are hardly in the gums, about 1mm I think even though 2 are wizzies, both he and the hospital showed me the x rays and said to take the 3 out in one go. The dentist tells me it will take him about 3 minutes in all. They are pretty sure that there will not be a problem with these 3 even though I have been on Bisphosphonates in the past.

I really dont want him to show me the pliers or the extracted teeth.

Then make that clear...I'm sure he has no intention of doing either although some patients like seeing their teeth. They sound easy-peasy....try closing your eyes or staring at the ceiling...there's no need to see anything at all....he can approach under your line of sight.
Pliers? tut tut...they have nice technical names like elevators and pelicans etc etc

3 minutes plus 5 mins to numb up in a 40 minute slot....think you'll be chatting about your 'mutual hobby' quite a lot chill... it will soon be Christmas and think how far you've come since last Christmas!

 

[wits end]

Unbelievable, it took under 10 mins to take my 2 wizzies and 1 back tooth out and that included giving me the LA. Two hours before my appointment I had a tremendous feeling of calmness came over me and I didn't have a panic attack at all. I got straight in 'the chair' and he started straight away without any problem whatsoever. It was an absolute breeze and all I felt was a tiny sting from the LA and a pressing down when he took the teeth out also a crunching sound but that was wonderful knowing that those teeth would never bother me again. I am now booked in for 4 appointments in the New Year for my partials to be made. Before the dentist started his work both him and his assistant said they were impressed with how well I had done with my earlier appointments. Isn't that nice of them to put me at my ease like that?
I shook his hand when he had finished and said he was a genius, I touched the assistant on the shoulder, thanked them both over and over again and wished them A Happy Christmas.
I'm sitting here at home now with a big smile on my face.

 

[scaredinthechi]

Woohoo! Well done! I am so happy for you. I bet you are feeling so proud of yourself right now, and you truly deserve it!

 

[letsconnect]

That's fantastic news !! So glad it went so smoothly. This must be a huge weight off your shoulders - and better yet, just in time to enjoy the run-up to Christmas .

Congratulations !!!

 

[brit]

Unbelievable, it took under 10 mins to take my 2 wizzies and 1 back tooth out and that included giving me the LA. Two hours before my appointment I had a tremendous feeling of calmness came over me and I didn't have a panic attack at all. I got straight in 'the chair' and he started straight away without any problem whatsoever. It was an absolute breeze and all I felt was a tiny sting from the LA and a pressing down when he took the teeth out also a crunching sound but that was wonderful knowing that those teeth would never bother me again. I am now booked in for 4 appointments in the New Year for my partials to be made. Before the dentist started his work both him and his assistant said they were impressed with how well I had done with my earlier appointments. Isn't that nice of them to put me at my ease like that?
I shook his hand when he had finished and said he was a genius, I touched the assistant on the shoulder, thanked them both over and over again and wished them A Happy Christmas.
I'm sitting here at home now with a big smile on my face.

I'm so pleased it went well for you...the feeling of calm maybe came back because there is basically some trust there...glad the LA was reasonably comfy too...a very Merry Christmas..you probably made their day with your profuse thanks.

 

[wits end]

Thank you very much scaredinthechi, lets connect and brit,

Without this forum I would never have found the dentist I now go to.

After the extractions I came home and had mashed potatoes, mushy peas & carrots mushed up, it tasted wonderful as I have been off my food quite a bit with all the anxiety.

Merry Christmas to everyone out there too.

 

[wits end]

Happy New Year everyone,

Next week I go for my first ever impression which I am quite worried about because I don't know what to expect.

I am getting rather anxious about this as people tell me that it is awful, in fact I read one post on here that someone said it was the worst dental experience of their life.

Please, someone, explain what will happen and how long the procedure will take.

No scare stories please.

 

[wits end]

Nobody answered my last posting. I this week had my impression.
Both the bottom and the top were done even though I am only having a top partial made. Next week I have an impression done for the bite, there was no gagging whatsoever and it was no big deal at all.

 

[letsconnect]

That's great news !!! Thanks for the update and a very Happy New Year to you, too !

 

[wits end]

Thank you for replying letsconnect, and a Happy New Year to you too.

Today I have been for another impression and my husband had another impression also. No gagging whatsoever and no big deal. Chosen the colour today too for our new teeth. Mine is a top partial and my husband will be getting a full top set to match his bottom teeth.
Two more visits and we have the teeth.

Without everyone's help in this forum my husband and I would not be where we are today. Thank you everyone.

 

[brit]

Happy New Year to you - so glad it's all still going so well.

 

[wits end]

Thanks brit,

Happy New Year.

 

[wits end]

I, last week went to the dentist for a fitting and am due to pick my new partials up tomorrow afternoon.

The problem is that about a couple of days after my second impression I felt a hard lump where my wisdom tooth was taken out and on feeling about in there I can feel something hard. A little bit further along I felt something sharp that seemed to wiggle a bit.

I must say I made it very sore with poking my finger nail around the area.

When I went for my fitting last week I told my dentist about it and he said he would have a look at it. He got the mirror and a prod like thing and had a feel around the area.

I was out of my skull with terror, my heart was hitting the roof but I kept the feelings to myself and I was thinking that he may have to do a bit of opening the gum up and I could definitely not have coped with it there and then.

The dentist said it felt like the socket and also the sharp wiggly bit could be a bit of tooth, but he was going to leave it alone and if the bit of tooth didn't eventually work its way out he would remove it with his tweezers.

My childhood experiences were all back in full force when he was looking in my mouth with the mirror and the prod like thing.

I now know my phobia is still with me and I have lost confidence in myself again.

Whilst I can still feel the hardness there it is not quite as sore, but I don't want anymore doing to me tomorrow other than get my new teeth.

I was hoping that tomorrow I would not need to go again for 6 months.

It is now 8 weeks since the extraction and I am really worried.

 

[letsconnect]

Hi witsend, bone spicules (i.e. pieces of bone that work themselves out) are really quite common after extractions and you shouldn't worry unduly about them - have a search on the forum for spicules and you'll come across loads of references!

Just because your phobia is "still with you" doesn't mean that you haven't made huge progress. There might have been a specific trigger that wasn't there on previous occasions? The older, more basic part of our brains which is involved in fear reactions works (physically) more quickly than the "thinking" part of our brains, and this often explains why a seemingly minor thing can trigger the fear response in full force. This does not however mean that you haven't made lots of progress. It is likely that all of us here are more vulnerable than people who have never experienced dental phobia for the fear to strike again. It would be best to treat it as a minor annoyance, rather than a setback, unless of course there was something different this time that needs to be addressed. For example, if the prod-like thing (the probe?) triggered it, discuss this with your dentist. It might help to hold the probe yourself and run your fingers over it; this may take away the fear if this is a problem. You could also ask your dentist to demonstrate, on your hand, what he's planning to do with it inside your mouth (you'll find that they don't actually use the probe for poking - though from bitter experience, I'm aware that in years gone by some dentists used it exactly for this purpose ...).

Him removing the spicule with tweezers would be a breeze, but I hope it'll work itself out all by itself before too long

 

[wits end]

Thank you very much letsconnect for your reply.

You have definitely hit the nail on the head as regards something that happened to me in the past at the dentist's.

When I was very young I worked for 6 years in the town where my now dentist is. I did the rounds in those days looking for a good dentist and must have visited all the dentists in the area if only to go up the steps and down again in most cases. Strangely enough when I went up the steps last week I had a sort of flashback, sort of like ' I used to have to knock on the door for entry when I came here all those years ago' Looking back now I think it was one of the places that I just got on the steps and then fled.

When I got in 'the chair' and told the dentist about my gum not feeling right he just got the mirror and prod thing and had a poke at the gum.
I saw the mirror and prod quite clearly and it took me back to when I was a girl and the dentist used to go over every tooth with the prod.

What beats me now is why, because the dentist now feels like a mate of mine, so I find this strange.

Yesterday I went for my hopefully last visit for a while and my gum didn't feel quite as bad but there is something there for sure.

I had the partial fitted with no gagging whatsoever but I hate the partial with a passion. When I got in the car to come home I started coughing and heaving and just had to take them out for a few minutes. I have had another do this morning with them, it's the sudden realisation that there is something in my mouth and I need to get to know how to remove them quickly if I have to.

My husband was also fitted with his full top set and he doesn't like his either.

Anyway we are both willing to give them a try for a couple of weeks.

 

[letsconnect]

It sounds like maybe the flashback you experienced first when you went up the stairs predisposed you to feeling very anxious, and it then took only a glimpse of the mirror and probe to set off the panic. That's entirely understandable; we all have images which will trigger anxiety and sometimes, this even occurs below the level of conscious awareness (in other words, you may not be entirely sure what in the environment triggered it). If you have a good relationship with your dentist otherwise - and it really sounds like it, if your dentist now feels like a mate of yours - I don't think it's anything to worry about. It's an entirely normal reaction to your memories of the past .

I don't have any personal experience of partials, but from what I've read here, there definitely is an adjustment period where they don't feel right (just like those awful contact lenses of years gone past ). It will take some time to forget that they're there. While a lot of it is "simply" a case of getting used to them - dentures rarely fit absolutely perfectly straight off, and your dentist may need to make some minor adjustments to them. Don't hesitate to go back if you notice that they're rubbing in the wrong spots or causing sores.

Best wishes to both you and your husband - it's really good that you can support each other through this