Root canal next week and absolutely terrified!

[fragglerock]

Hi, I’m fairly new to this forum, although I’ve been reading posts on here for a while and all your individual stories have really helped me to try to overcome my fears. Unfortunately things have just been turned upside down and I really don’t know what to do now.

I won’t bore you with all the details of why I’m terrified of going to the dentist (because this will end up being a very long post!), but the problems started when I was about 2 or 3 years old and I’ve been scared to death ever since. I was never badly behaved at appointments, but I was scared and so I would usually be trembling and couldn’t really say much. Unfortunately the dentist was a real psycho and at each appointment he would order the nurses to hold me down while he forced me to open my mouth by either stabbing my arms with the metal pokey thing they use to examine teeth or by putting his hand over my nose and mouth.

Other things included being hit and then left alone in a room with no windows and no lights on, when I trembled too much during an x-ray and having one of my front ‘baby teeth’ teeth removed with no local anaesthetic even though it wasn’t ready to come out (all the other teeth had fallen out/grown in when and where they were supposed to, but I was told that it was because I’d been bad). It all came to an end in my teens when he told me I needed a filling and then started to drill my tooth without giving me any local anaesthetic first. I was crying so I was told to go and sit in the waiting room until I could ‘behave’. I ran out of the building and never went back.

I didn’t go to the dentist for years and it wasn’t until I started to get toothache in several teeth and a friend made an appointment for me at a local practice, that I eventually had a checkup. Since that first appointment at the place I go to now, I’ve seen several dentists (because it\s an NHS practice so they tend to leave every 2 or 3 years), a couple have been OK-ish, another one would tut and sigh (you can imagine how great this made me feel!) because I sometimes still find it difficult to open my mouth and/or answer questions when asked and one who I thought was OK… until he refused to believe my mouth wasn’t numb during a filling and wouldn’t stop even though I raised my hand (repeatedly) as asked. Because of all the stuff that happened when I was younger, I’m still terrified, shake like a leaf and find it difficult to say anything during appointments, so I’ve not really been able to tell them what I’m scared of.

Over the past couple of years, the dentist I’ve been seeing has been very nice and although I’m still scared (I also experience flashbacks to what happened before sometimes during appointments), I had just begun trust that nothing bad would happen and that despite my fear, things would be alright. I never managed to have the conversation where you’re meant to tell them what you’re scared of (because I’m too scared!) but it didn’t really seem to matter as he was OK. Because I don’t want to be scared of this for the rest of my life, I decided that I needed to face up to it and so I wrote it all down and I handed the letter over at an appointment a few weeks ago. Thankfully it went OK.

So far so good, but unfortunately due to ongoing problems with a few teeth, I was told that I now need to have a root canal in one of my teeth (never had one before, but I do know what’s involved and the thought of it makes me want to cry). When I went to reception to book the dreaded appointment, they told me that my dentist was leaving and so the appointment would be with someone new when they started in a month’s time. The month is now up and the appointment is next week and I feel like I’m back to square one. I am now more terrified than I have ever been and I don’t know how I will manage to go to the appointment, let alone go through with it. I really want to cancel the appointment but I know I have to go. Help!

(Sorry for the long post!).

 

[biffo1963]

A root canal should be no different to/worse than a normal filling, it just takes a bit longer to do.

Other than that, you really do need to talk to the dentist because otherwise you have no way of knowing whether or not he/she is sympathetic. The stuff that happened when you were a child was nasty, and sadly all too typical of UK dentists years ago. But you are no longer a child; the dentist now sees an adult sitting in that chair, and will probably expect normal adult responses unless he/she knows your history. Also, dentists are now trained not to act like the the old ones and to treat patients properly - so the sooner you can have that dialogue, the easier things should be for you. Good luck !

John

 

[faz]

I'm just passing through here -- I was looking for info on something and I happened to find your post but once I'd read it I instantly registered in order to be able to reply to you.

I'm really sorry to hear about what happened to you. It makes me so angry that this sort of thing could have occured. I'm FUMING about it to be honest.

I don't know if this will help you, but here goes:

I'm in the middle of some really long and complicated dental bits and bobs. Part of it will shortly involve no less than six root canal procedures.

But let me back up a bit. I have really bad teeth and as a result I've seen a LOT of dentists.

My childhood dentist was a little bit brutal, but nothing like yours. All my other dentists have been amazing though. So don't worry too much about the new one. He or she may be like my current one -- she's soo pretty and so gentle and so understanding. My teeth are so horrible I don't like to show them, especially to a pretty girl, but I had no hesitation showing them to her.

My last but one dentist was great too. He was from Poland, as it happens, and I've had a South African and an Estonian, so don't worry if your new one is not from the UK). I mention him in particular because he did a root canal on me recently.

It did not hurt. Seriously. One fraction of a second of feeling a sensation that was less than the one I get ever day when drinking really cold water and that was it. The sensation (not pain) had been and gone before my brain had time to react. He was out of my mouth before I had time to think about saying "Urrrr" which is what I usually do if I feel something

I asked him afterwards why people are so afraid of these things. He said it was all about the "Myth of the root canal". In his experience it was no big deal, and locals they use these days are much better ar killing pain completely, and basically it was "totally routine, but takes longer than a simple filling".

So, I have six of these to look forward to, three one day, and three another day. It won't be fun, but it bad or horrible.

I suggest that you print off what you posted, and hand it to your new dentist. An instant of embarassment as you hand it over will reap huge rewards. You won't have to say a thing. The new dentist will understand everything in 60 seconds.

 

[brit]

Hi Fragglerock
Think we need to give you our award for worst UK NHS childhood dentistry experience - that's seriously bad atypical stuff you are recounting there. What decade was most of this? You had the right to take someone in with you as well...if it was recently then seriously lodge a complaint with the authorities if the guy is still practising.

You've kind of sussed the issue yourself...the problem is that the NHS dentists keep moving on, they are also likely newly qualified and inexperienced. I would want any root canal (but especially a molar one or front tooth one) done by someone experienced in root canals not just any dentist I had just met that morning.

Is there any way you can try to simply find a private dentist and stick with them, the Denplan type ones don't all cost the earth but obviously you have to decide it's an area of importance to you that you want to spend on to guarantee yourself (as far as is possible) positive experiences from here on in.

Root canals are no big deal as the others have said - no need to believe the horror stories....it sounds like you have been going to the same practice for some time so is there a more experienced dentist there, the Principal maybe, who you could switch to, even if only for the root canal?

The replacement dentist should diagnose for himself before doing the treatment in any event. He can't just carry out another dentist's recommendation wily nily, he has to think it is clinically appropriate and within his competence.

In case you are not aware there are also private specialists in the UK called endodontists who do root canals....so you could also just opt out to one of those just for this tooth.

I agree it is a good idea to print off your post and hand it to them although the practice if they were doing their job properly should hand on what you shared with the previous dentist unless it was 'for his eyes only'.

 

[fragglerock]

Thank you so much for your replies; it really helps to know I'm not alone.

The problem is now that I'm still terrified and I still experience the same feelings of fear including trembling, palpitations and being unable to speak. I had hoped that the fear would reduce over time, but it hasn't, although I've been able to cope with it a bit better recently because I knew that nothing bad would happen.

It probably doesn't help that I seem to get a new dentist every couple of years, so every time it's someone new, I don't know what they'll be like and on a couple of occasions they've been less than pleasant. It's a bit like a dentist version of russian roulette except that the odds don't seem to have been stacked in my favour because four out of the five dentists I've seen have either been a psycho, ignored my requests to stop, been bad tempered or just inexperienced.

I wish I was able to go private, but my current finances make this very difficult, so it looks as though I'm stuck where I am for now and I can't change to another NHS practice because nowhere is accepting new patients in my area. Then again, I also know that it's possible to have an OK experience on the NHS as the past couple of years have proved.

Because I've got a lot of pain in one tooth which has been very worn down for quite a few years, I had an appointment a couple of months ago where I had fillings bonded to the biting surfaces of a couple of teeth to try and reduce the pain. I was told then that there may be a problem with the nerve in one or both teeth and that if it didn't resolve, I may end up having a root canal.

Unfortunately the fillings fell in bits, so I had to go back and have them replaced, but the pain still came back. So, then I had another appointment where both teeth were drilled and filled with some sort of anti-inflammatory stuff plus temporary fillings to see if the pain would go. The pain subsided in one tooth but not the other and so I ended up going back again and this time, he drilled right down to the nerve (which I was told is very inflamed) to place more anti-inflammatory stuff in preparation for the root canal and it was extremely painful as the tooth wouldn't go numb despite several injections (I was also told that once this was done, the root canal did need doing). It was at this appointment that I handed the letter over and then later found out when I was booking the root canal appointment at reception, that the dentist was leaving.

Less than a week later, I'd developed a huge hole in the filling and the pain came back. So, I went back again for another appointment (about 3 weeks ago) to have the fillings repaired until the root canal and he said that he thought I'd started grinding my teeth at night (it's not something that I've ever done before so it must be the stress of this!). I then had impressions taken for a mouth guard (which I've now got) to try and protect the fillings until the next appointment.

At the appointment where I handed the letter over, afterwards when I booked the appointment for the root canal, the receptionist (who's very nice and who knows I'm scared) did say that a note had been put on my records for the new dentist to see and it said something about a patient letter. So hopefully this means that the new dentist may read it, but who knows.

I know I have to find some way of discussing my fears, but going by past appointments, this is unlikely (because I won't be able to say anything), so my only options are either to hope that the new dentist has read my previous letter or to write a new one and hope that a) I can pluck up the courage to hand it over and b) they'll read it.

I am now absolutely petrified at the thought of next weeks appointment.

 

[brit]

Even the 'nice' dentist has unfortunately given you a bad experience...it could be lack of experience to blame. It is not necessary to cause pain like that....some dentists can get 'hot' teeth numb, there are other LA techniques they can use and sedation is also an option.


I like your logic though and I am not trying to put you off. Don't let them do anything if you are not numb though - go away and get some antibiotics first.

It's your call but for me, and especially with your history it would be important to be in control and to guarantee myself a comfortable experience. You are stuck with whichever NHS dentist you get next....so do it on your terms...and maybe consider 'buying in someone more experienced (another dentist or endo) should it prove necessary'.
Best wishes