• 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 of the dentist... :-(

G

Guest

Former Member
Hi, I came accross this website... I want to go to the dentist and get my teeth sorted out, but I am absolutely terrified of them. I think the reason behind this is I had gas so many time when I was younger, at one point had 7 baby teeth out. I have a very small mouth so my teeth haven't had enough room & have grown where ever they can, my teeth are not straight at all. I needed a root canal done earlier this year, I got as far at the dentist, he put a temporary filling in & now my tooth has broken in half. I am eating on the other side but I am worried the same thing will happen. I always set myself targets & say I will go to a new dentist in January etc. but it is now January & I am far too scared to call them up. I don't have a dentist anymore as I didn't keep up the appointments... I need a new one & I'm looking for one which specialises in extremely nervous patients, but can't find one... I am in Essex so if anyone could help me out with that, it would be a start.

I am absolutely terrified... people tell me I am beautiful & i know that my teeth are awful & I should do something about them. My biggest fear is the injections but mainly having the tooth pulled out while being awake... I don't want to be put to sleep again though & I don't want any local gas or tablets I want to be awake but I am SO scared.

I'm sorry if I sound like I am talking rubbish... I just don't know what to do to make myself go through with it.

Sometimes because of my teeth I do actually feel like I would rather not be around than have to watch them fall apart like this.

Please somebody give me advice if you have any about having teeth taken out.. and in the mean time what do I do to make them whiter? Also if anybody know a good place to go for nervous patients.

Thanks alot you can't understand how much you would help me if you replied with some advice.
 
Hi,

I am not really the best person to give out advice as I too am petrified of the dentist, I have though made somewhat of a breakthrough in finding a dentist who can deal with my phobias and help me put them behind me so hopefully you could do the same. I did a lot of research into finding this man and have spent hours and hours on the net trawling through pages and pages of dentists. I have to have 3 teeth out and like you want to be awake but yet want to be asleep, if that makes sense?! I have never had an op before so the thought of being put under does scare me a bit but the dentist I have recently found offers IV sedation which apparently has a feeling of sleepiness about it although you are fully awake. It also has an amnesia effect so when the procedure is over you wont really remember much about it, you are able to cooperate with the dentist but at the same time wont really care whats going on around you. Maybe this could be an option for you? I know how you are feeling, as does everyone else on this forum so you are by no means alone. I to am petrified at the thought of having these teeth taken out but know it has to be done. I cant really help on the dentist part as I live in the Hampshire area but I did find a dentist while I was looking on the net that was based in London? I am not sure of who or where but maybe you could have a search and see what you come up with. There is also a section here on finding a dentist in your area so maybe you could ahve a look. I am sure someone can help you in finding the right dentist :thumbsup:
 
Hi :welcome:,

Firstly, well done for making it onto this board - that in itself takes a fair bit of courage if you're terrified of the dentist :).

Girl19(Guest) said:
I think the reason behind this is I had gas so many time when I was younger, at one point had 7 baby teeth out.

---

My biggest fear is the injections but mainly having the tooth pulled out while being awake... I don't want to be put to sleep again though & I don't want any local gas or tablets I want to be awake but I am SO scared.

It's good that you're able to identify what it is that scares you - many people find that this helps them a lot in overcoming their fears. By breaking your fear down into individual fears and dealing with one at a time, it can seem less overwhelming than trying to tackle it all at once.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but your main fears seem to be injections and also sedation? I don't know if you've seen it already but there's a page about needle phobia here:


There are lots of things that can be done to help you overcome your fears so please don't despair :).

If sedation (or being 'out of it', unconscious or asleep etc) worries you, it isn't the only option. There are lots of other things that can help from things like relaxation techniques, hypnosis and NLP to more simple things like an understanding dentist and a bit of TLC (this seems to help people the most). You can find out more about psychological methods of dealing with dental fear/phobia here:


Some people also find it helpful to come up with a list of everything that scares them and go through that list with a dentist when you meet them - that way you can let them know how they can help you.

Girl19(Guest) said:
I needed a root canal done earlier this year, I got as far at the dentist, he put a temporary filling in & now my tooth has broken in half.

Well done for going and getting the root canal done :thumbsup:. Try not to give yourself a hard time for not going back though - the point is that you're trying to deal with your fears now and that's all that matters :).

If it helps, I went to the dentist regularly every six months until I got to about 15 or 16 years old and was told I'd need a filling at the next visit. The thought of that scared me so much that I didn't go back for about 7 years.

Girl19(Guest) said:
I'm sorry if I sound like I am talking rubbish... I just don't know what to do to make myself go through with it.

No you're not talking rubbish - it can be hard to post on a message board about the thing that scares you the most. There's a first time for everyone when they post on here - so everyone on here knows what you're going through.

Have you looked on the dentist database for your area? (Click on Dentist Database at the top of this page?) There's also another 'non-public' database of phobic friendly dentists - there could be someone in your area on there as well. If you send a PM to letsconnect, she'll be able to search it for you.
 
Hi, :welcome:

Just a thought, but have you tried nhsdirect their site is www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk.  You can search for dentists who deal with phobic patients, you have to search using the fuller search it is on the menu on the left.  You just have to type in your postcode and it will come up with a list in your area.  It's worth a try!

Hope it helps.

t_t
 
Girl19(Guest) said:
I am in Essex so if anyone could help me out with that, it would be a start.

Are you far from Chigwell?
 
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