Scared I made the wrong decision

[Chronicallyhonest]

I’ve been on the waiting list to have 5 teeth out under general anaesthetic for coming up to 2 years now. The waiting lists at my local hospital are obviously insanely long and I know it’s not anyone’s problem at all so I’m not annoyed in the slightest.

However, 2 of them are getting a hell of a lot worse and bits keep breaking off. So I asked support worker today to call the hospital and ask if it would be any quicker to have them out without general. And they said it would be a lot quicker so I’ve asked them to move me to that list.

But now I’m terrified that it’s going to be painful and that I should have just carried on waiting to have them under general. The last time my mum had a tooth pulled she came out of the appointment crying and said I was lucky to be having mine done under general - so to say I’m scared is an understatement.

I’ve also been getting really bad toothache in another tooth recently so my support worker booked me in for an emergency appointment tomorrow morning and I’m terrified about that too. I’ve had fillings and root canals in the past but that doesn’t stop the terrified feelings before every single appointment or procedure.

 

[realh]

The extraction process itself shouldn't be painful. It is painful after the anaesthetic wears off, but ibuprofen and paracetamol should cover it. You can take both together. Take some with you in case the pain kicks in before you get home, or even take them the moment you get called in to the treatment room.

My advice would be to split it between at least two appointments. If the problem teeth are in different parts of your mouth it will be very hard to eat for a couple of weeks. But getting the two worst ones done first might be a higher priority for you, and you might prefer to have one long ordeal than 2-5 shorter ones.

I tend to get in a state for at least a week before a dental appointment, so last time I had an extraction I got my sister to make the appointment and not tell me when it was until the day it was booked. This worked quite well, so I've done it again with an extraction I'm due later this year. Hopefully you should be able to make a similar arrangement with your support worker.

 

[Chronicallyhonest]

@realh thank you! I had my appointment this morning and they were super nice tbh - they always are, but I still panic so much every time. She said it was referred pain from one of the teeth that I was due to have out and so said they could pull it then and there, so I agreed and had it done!! Actually feeling pretty chuffed with myself - it hurts a fair bit now, but the actual procedure was fine.