Scared of Upcoming Dental Work

[kitkat]

In my personal opinion, 3 fillings is a lot to do in one sitting! My max is 2 but even then it can be a bit much for me. I noticed that after I started to face my fears and had a few visits under my belt, the fear did temporarily escalate and get much worse, which didn’t make sense to me because I thought I was feeling better about things. I’ve thought about it a lot to try to make sense of it. The only thing that kind of makes sense (in my head) is that I may have felt safer and less likely to suppress my anxiety so my fear actually looked worse even though I felt better about things. I have read about this same thing happening with others on the forum and people get frustrated and feel like they are sliding backwards with their fear but I don’t think that’s always the case. It’s normal to feel dizzy afterwards if you were reclined for quite some time. The shakiness relates back to what I said about the physical fight/flight symptoms intensifying. That is disappointing about the deep cleaning. I don’t understand how they could not cover that. You should not feel pain with the wedges...there is a lot of pressure with them but maybe you could have used a little extra anesthetic. I know that when I have had multiple fillings done in the same area, my dentist will only place one wedge at a time (she removes one before placing the next one) so that it is not too overwhelming of a sensation. She has specifically told me she is only using one wedge at a time to not overwhelm me. If this was not done for you, it may be a reasonable request for if/when there is a next time.

 

[scaredykat11]

In my personal opinion, 3 fillings is a lot to do in one sitting! My max is 2 but even then it can be a bit much for me. I noticed that after I started to face my fears and had a few visits under my belt, the fear did temporarily escalate and get much worse, which didn’t make sense to me because I thought I was feeling better about things. I’ve thought about it a lot to try to make sense of it. The only thing that kind of makes sense (in my head) is that I may have felt safer and less likely to suppress my anxiety so my fear actually looked worse even though I felt better about things. I have read about this same thing happening with others on the forum and people get frustrated and feel like they are sliding backwards with their fear but I don’t think that’s always the case. It’s normal to feel dizzy afterwards if you were reclined for quite some time. The shakiness relates back to what I said about the physical fight/flight symptoms intensifying. That is disappointing about the deep cleaning. I don’t understand how they could not cover that. You should not feel pain with the wedges...there is a lot of pressure with them but maybe you could have used a little extra anesthetic. I know that when I have had multiple fillings done in the same area, my dentist will only place one wedge at a time (she removes one before placing the next one) so that it is not too overwhelming of a sensation. She has specifically told me she is only using one wedge at a time to not overwhelm me. If this was not done for you, it may be a reasonable request for if/when there is a next time.

Last week, she used the wedges and didn't even tell me so I wasn't sure why she was poking and prodding.

This time she told me what she was doing before the procedure, and she did use one at a time except for one tooth, where she used two. She did say that I would feel pain on the backside because she only gave anesthesia on the front side of my mouth. She offered a shot on the back near the roof of my mouth but I refused. Instead, I asked her for more topical.

My gum is super sore and painful between the teeth she placed the second wedge. That's when I kicked my foot in the air cause it hurt so bad.

Funny thing, I don't remember a dentist ever using wedges for my fillings before. Or maybe I just don't remember them being so painful.

Let me clarify, she used wooden wedges, some orange wedge, a spacer (?) that she had to tighten, a band... she never told me why or what they were. Kind of upset me a little.

She's nice, though. I'd seek a different dentist but it's impossible to find one in my local city that takes state paid care.

About my insurance, I'm covered by Medicaid (US) and I guess they only cover up to $700 of dental in a calendar year, from July to July. My deep cleanings are scheduled for July 26th and Aug 3rd, and the billing rep believes we would go over my limit and I would have to pay some out of pocket which I can't afford.

Sorry, this post turned into a rant. Didn't mean it too lol

 

[kitkat]

I know exactly what you are referencing. You are talking about the wedges that go between the teeth and the matrix band that goes around the tooth. These are only used for fillings that are done in between the teeth which may be why you haven’t encountered them before. The band that wraps around the tooth gives the dentist a mold to use when re-building up the side of the tooth that was removed by the drill..the wedge keeps the space open between the 2 teeth and I think it helps secure/support the band. I also never recall the wedges or bands being used in the past but my dentist made a point of showing and explaining them to me the first time she used them. She seemed to anticipate that it might scare me. I wonder if your teeth are spaced very close together which would make the wedges more difficult to tolerate? It also sounds like it was in a very bad spot where you were on the boundary of anesthesia. So does that mean that your insurance limit would start over after July and you could have the deep cleaning then?

 

[scaredykat11]

I know exactly what you are referencing. You are talking about the wedges that go between the teeth and the matrix band that goes around the tooth. These are only used for fillings that are done in between the teeth which may be why you haven’t encountered them before. The band that wraps around the tooth gives the dentist a mold to use when re-building up the side of the tooth that was removed by the drill..the wedge keeps the space open between the 2 teeth and I think it helps secure/support the band. I also never recall the wedges or bands being used in the past but my dentist made a point of showing and explaining them to me the first time she used them. She seemed to anticipate that it might scare me. I wonder if your teeth are spaced very close together which would make the wedges more difficult to tolerate? It also sounds like it was in a very bad spot where you were on the boundary of anesthesia. So does that mean that your insurance limit would start over after July and you could have the deep cleaning then?

The billing rep talked about rescheduling my 1st deep cleaning for Jun 2020. I can get the rest of my fillings done in the same time. Then, in July 2020, I can have my 2nd deep cleaning.

Now that I think of it, $700 is an extremely low number. I've had root canals and crowns put in paid for my Medicaid so I may have heard her wrong today. She did tell me when I was in a post-anesthetic anxious daze.

 

[scaredykat11]

I heard back from them today. They can go ahead with my deep cleaning in July.

And I was hoping I was home free. Let the anxiety resume.