• 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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Scared, Like Everyone Else

D

Dylan

Junior member
Joined
May 4, 2012
Messages
3
Hello everyone, I am Dylan, a 22 year old college student with three majors who has not been to the dentist in 4 years. I have been putting it off because I have had a lot of other things to do regarding college and work and have had very little time. But recently I have been trying to improve my self and its time for me to go to the dentist. I want to get my teeth cleaned, the small cavities I see fixed, my teeth whitened, and strengthened up… the only problem is that I am SCARED. Its 2:30 AM and its been keeping me up for the past three nights thinking about it.


So what am I scared of? Just about everything! I rather have someone work on any other part of my body than have someone touch my teeth. Every time I can remember going to the dentist they always got onto me about not brushing three times a day and showed me a video on how to brush. When they cleaned my teeth they were always extremely rough and I hated it. When I have gotten cavities filled, I got three shoots of anesthetic and I could still feel it. Now I am at the point where I would like to get everything fixed but I am getting ill and upset just thinking about it. I don't want a lecture, I don't want pain, I don't want to be sitting there for 30 mints with nothing to do but to wait for someone to come. If I could just take a pill, go to sleep, and know that everything would be done in two hours, I would do that.


Any support anyone has would be much appreciated. What do I say when I call the dentist? How can I tell them I am scared? I don't even know if they have nitrous oxide and doubt I could handle bad news or at least all at once. What do I do? I just want it all to be over
:(
 
Welcome,as you will already know, people here will totally understand your feelings.

I think your key here is finding the right dentist. As has been said before, like in any profession not all dentists are equal, some have better skills and some are much better with phobic/scared patients. Those who have a genuine interest in phobic patients will take the time to work with you and deal with your fears one by one. They will be your 'friend' rather than the dreaded enemy. I didn't notice where you said you were in the countrym maybe you didn't say. You can search on here for dentists who have been recommended by other phobics, or if you know people in the area ask for personal recommendations. There is also a lot of reading you can do on this site about all those specific fears you have.

When I have gotten cavities filled, I got three shoots of anesthetic and I could still feel it.

Unfortunately, you've seen a dentist who has poor injecting technique. It is all about placing the injection correctly, doing it slowly and NOT working on the patient if they can still feel something ! There is no need to feel any pain at all during any dental work, even down to have numbing gel dabbed on the place where the injection is about to be given to stop any pain from that.

Every time I can remember going to the dentist they always got onto me about not brushing three times a day

You don't need to brush three times a day ! The fact that you have been told this, combined with this.....

When they cleaned my teeth they were always extremely rough and I hated it

...would indicate that the hygienist or dentist weren't caring or even very good at what they were doing.

You've had some bad experiences, which are understandably making you afraid to go back, but it REALLY doesn't have to be this way nowadays. There is no place for rough, patronising, painful dentistry in modern times. Now, it is about finding the right practice and dentist, and once you have found the right person you can arrange to chat with them about your specific fears AND you can take it slowly, at the pace you want.
 
Carys covered most of what I'd have said.

One other thing to keep in mind is the option of emailing dentists if you feel phoning is too much, I've read many have done that here with success, I know from my own experience that just talking to even someone working at a dental place like a receptionist can cause me anxiety, in my case email isn't a viable option, however most practices allow for this, just something to keep in mind if you find it too stressful to say what you want on the phone. You'll get a general idea by the type of reply you get if you it's a place worth pursuing further.

I also understand concern over cleanings, the only 1 I had was very uncomfortable, in my case the dentist was rather nice and was more than willing to allow a break, I was too stubborn to admit I was having issues with it. They can numb you up for such a procedure and I'm even considering asking for such a thing before having another 1 myself.

Please do let us know how you get on and I hope you find the dentist for you!:XXLhug:
 
Thank you very much for the support Carys and Rock Chick.


I ended up calling my family's dentist and, though I don't care much for him, I have an appointment tomorrow. I am nervous about it and probably thinking that my teeth are worse than they are.


Like I said, my appointment is tomorrow (well its actually today seeing that its 12:21 AM where I am) and I have no idea what to expect but I am just going to take it head on. Maybe it will be find or maybe it will suck but I have a background in hospitality and am going to handle it the way I would handle any issue in the hospitality industry.


Well we will see how this turns out. The good thing is that after my appointment, I have the rest of the week to relax.
 
Dylan, I am facing an appt too and am petrified. I am sending support and courage your way. Please let us know how it goes. :bear:
 
So, good luck for today....I have a feeling that you are imagining there are worse problems with you teeth than are reality too ! 4 years of avoidance isn't too bad at all, and as you are young and taking control of the situation so early there is no reason why there shouldn't be a very positive outcome. It is a shame you have needed to see this guy who you don't like that much, but even if you get a check-up done today and feel you can't hack him, then you can always look elsewhere.
 
My checkup and cleaning went well. The hygienist was very nice and personable and the dentist, though he is not the most personable person, was ok. I had 9 cavities and none of them were that bad. 2 were from my failed attempt at braces, 3 or 4 were found only by a density laser, and the hole in my back tooth is actually a result of a chip next to a previous filling. This leaves 2 or 3 small cavities that are a result of me not getting them cleaned.


In two weeks I go to get 4 filled, a week after that I get 2 filled, and a week after that I get the remaining 3 filled and I get the molding for the whitening mouth peace. Than off the the orthodontist. I will keep everyone posted on how it all goes, if the dentist can num me up well than I think it should go very smoothly.
 
GOOD FOR YOU :jump::jump::jump::jump::jump: I bet you feel better now. It will be okay, if you think you aren't numb tell the dentist and they can top you up until you are. :jump::jump::jump::jump::jump:

GOOD LUCK for your appointment, I am sure things will go well. :cool: :butterfly:
 
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