Pretty Scared

[imafraid]

Its my first time going to the dentist in a few weeks after 30 years, i'm terrified of needing surgery or even the cleaning is scaring me.

 

[Anxiety Riddled]

I wish you all the luck in the world! I commend you for making yourself an appointment. I’ve been struggling with this for years and I want to go so bad because I know I need to but I can’t even get myself to make the first call… I’m terrified.

 

[Magicianscotty]

@imafraid great job for making an appointment. First thing I would do is get an exam appointment. They will take a full set of X-rays and then probe/measure your gum pockets (ask for oraquix) it’s a numbing gel they inject under your gums. It doesn’t go into the skin, just under the gums. Doesn’t hurt.

 

[MagicDuck12]

@imafraid hi there, have you had your appointment?

Is there anything giving you reason to think big surgeries are coming? unless youve got very strong pain on a daily basis, or visibly chipped teeth, or sensitivity thats not just sensitivity, its like mega mega sensitivity, im pretty hopeful youre not in bad shape.

Your cleaning will go nicely. It depends if you have gum pockets really. If your gum pockets are at a normal level, they will do a normal cleaning.

if your gum pockets are like say....4mm? (maybe a dentist can correct me on that), then they might do the deep cleaning where they clean below the gum line, and theyll most likely give you topical stuff for that just to make it easier.

 

[imafraid]

@MagicDuck12 "have you had your appointment?"
Not yet

"Is there anything giving you reason to think big surgeries are coming?"
i have some teeth that are broken and the bottoms are still in the gums.

 

[imafraid]

and i have some cavities.

just a couple days and i see the dentist, i'm getting nervous

 

[MagicDuck12]

@imafraid I'm so sorry you're feeling scared and I feel exactly the same way as you can see from my threads.

Some things that I cling onto that give me some hope when all seems lost which I thought I'd share, I hope it works for you

1) I'm not alone in the room. I'm with a dentist and an assistant. If they hurt me even for 2 seconds they WILL show concern for me. They will stop. They are trying to make it as easy as possible. Being alone with my thoughts is the worst part

2) you can, if you can afford to, make the experience less stressful. Things like nitrous are shown to leesen stress and discomfort

3) confide in people you absolutely trust. Not ones who just say "ohhhh you'll be fiiiiiine or it's not soooo baaaaaad" because they can't be bothered. Talk to people you can really confide in who knows how to make you feel more positive

I feel like once I'm in the dentist at least the waiting is over. At least we can "get it done". The waiting, the anticipation is the killer. It isnt as bad as I build it up in my head. But it's still a highly unpleasant and very stressful 30 mins, hour or so.

You CAN do it. I know you can. I wish I could wave a magic wand and make everything lovely for you. But you CAN do it. You'll most definitely appreciate the effect of the work when done.

Please let me know how it goes I'm rooting for you. I'm just the same as you in feelings and I'm desperate for you to succeed x

 

[imafraid]

Finally went to the dentist today and they took x-rays, it went much better than i expected. My teeth are not compacted so that's a plus. Going back to extract an abscess tooth next month then continue from there. Pretty scared of the extraction process but it has to be done.

 

[kaciee]

@imafraid I don't really have any good advice,but I wish you good luck

 

[imafraid]

I finally went to the dentists and got a tooth extracted, it was easier than i expected, just wanted to leave this here for others...

there was no pain they numbed up the spot real good. They were nice enough to make sure i was not hurting while they extracted it.

I have been really afraid of dentists and still am worried about the recovery, but so far so good. I Have two more extractions to go.