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Scared to death about dentist appt!!

B

Bsud

Junior member
Joined
Aug 2, 2016
Messages
15
Hi,
This will be pretty much my first appt in over 20yrs ? I went over a month ago and had a tooth pulled. But this time I'm really scared to death, I go tomorrow morning for a complete exam and a cleaning (which I've never had professionally) I know I have several cavities that will probably need fillings (4 cavities I know of in the front). But I starting tomorrow on the path of getting them fixed. I've had several pulled over the years and once what I have is fixed I'm going to get a partial or something for those missing. But oh the fear I have for this cleaning and anything else coming up! Please help me to get through this, what can I expect? I don't like pain! TIA
 
Tomorrow morning is coming fast! I hope I really get some positive news and I hope this cleaning is not as bad as I'm anticipating!
 
I promise you it won't be as bad as you think it will, the anxiety is sooooo much worse than the actual appointment I promise. I had the same concern, I needed a good few extractions all molars and surprisingly other than that just a few filings. Not too bad for letting it go as long as I did. You will feel great after the appointment when you are on your way to great dental health.
 
Hi Bsud and :welcome: to the forum.

I'm sorry I didn't see this sooner. You are amongst like-minded people who have very similar feelings when starting a new dental journey. I waited over 17 years before venturing back to the dentist so I completely understand the emotions you are probably dealing with. I survived it and I'm pretty sure you are going to be just fine too. We often fear the worst and then after it's all said and done wonder why we were so worried. I hope that you find that to be the case too.

Because you mentioned having a tooth pulled a month ago I assume you have found a dentist that understands you have anxiety and that you are comfortable with. Having open communication can go a long way in making the appointment more relaxing. Perhaps have a hand signal if you start to feel overwhelmed and need a break or they may even check with you periodically to make sure you are doing o.k. if they know you are anxious. Things are a lot different now with a lot of improvements, both in technology and how dentists treat with and work together with their patients to make sure they have a good relationship. (Most dentists, hopefully yours too!!) There are numbing creams they can put on your gums and now instead of the "rinse and spit" (which I hated) they just spray and use the suction tool to get rid of excess water. It made everything seemed to go so much faster. Perhaps, if it helps, you can take in headphones and listen to music. I have done that but sometimes the hygienist chats with me so I usually play it by ear. I still get nervous before each and every appt. and then wonder why once I'm done.

I just want to wish you well for your appt. tomorrow. I hope it goes smoothly and that you have a positive experience. :clover: We always enjoy a good success story and I hope you'll soon be posting one.

Best of luck - you can do this!!!!!
Takingflight
 
Thank you Both. Yes its the same dentist that pulled the tooth so he knows I was scared to death then. Also this dentist is a small office and he is kinda old school but knows his stuff. Matter of fact he does the cleanings himself not the actual hygienist. I know when he pulled the tooth he put something on there to numb it so I wouldn't feel the shot. Actually I've had seven extractions over the years but never had cleanings (unless when i was younger cant remember) and I've never had fillings. I know I counted 7 cavities that I can see some very small but a couple big ones. I hope no root canals because I can't afford it and those would have to be pulled if that's the case, so I'm hoping tomorrow he tells me they can be filled and fixed like that. And once that's done I can get a partial for what I'm missing. Another thing I've never really had a bad toothache because as soon as I felt pains of one coming on I would go and get it pulled beforehand. But anyway I'm going tomorrow and hopefully get good news and this cleaning and then start the work soon.
 
Well the cleaning is over and I'm back home. I had to be numbed up pretty good to get through it which I hated having my whole mouth numb! But anyway I got good news, I do have 10 cavities most which are small. But the good news is no root canals or the loss of anymore teeth. What I have can be filled. Just hope the fillings are not bad, he said he could do as many as I'd like but I will not have them all at once. So not near as bad as could be for not taking care of them for 30 years! So for now they are clean and all is good till I start my fillings.
 
I am pleased for you that things went well for you and that the news you got was good. For the fillings you will be numb and shouldn't feel anything other than a bit of vibration. If you do feel anything let the dentist know and he will give you more of the numbing stuff. I think he will make sure you are good an numb though he sounds very nice and caring.

Don't stress about the rest of your treatment it is easier than having teeth extracted :butterfly:
 
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Thank you Carole! Yes I really like him even though I'm having to have 10 filled I am thrilled to know that they can be fixed without root canals or extraction! From here forward I will be brushing and flossing and getting 6 months cleanings (Which should not be near as bad as today was) and once I get my fillings then I'm going to get my partial for the ones I'm missing. So hopefully other than the fillings the worse is over!
 
Another question is the drill for fillings louder than the ultrasonic scaler or about the same? I did mind the sound when they did my cleaning, that didn't bother me. Like I said the worse part of the cleaning was having my whole mouth numb top and bottom in order for me not to feel anything much. Its the fact of a drill being used on my teeth that bothers me now.
 
Sound wise, I would say that the drill is quite similar to the ultrasonic scaler - it's not louder I don't think. The high speed drill makes quite a similar high-pitched sound.

They feel quite similar too, or at least they do to me.
 
So we not talking a big looking drill like a DIY home drill LOL! I've never in my life even seen what they use to do fillings so I have no idea what I'm looking forward to. But if its similar to the ultrasonic scaler and I'm numbed up good then I should be ok. I have 2 cavities that are fairly big but the others he said were small.
 
I find the sound of the ultrasonic scaler to be almost unbearable - as in it really hurts my ears! The drill never seems as loud... Any it's very small :)
 
Having had both used on me this morning (LUCKY ME!), I say that the noise from the ultrasonic scaler bothers me more than the drill. It's almost like nails on a chalkboard - the drill whines a bit but is nowhere as bad, and was quieter to me. And yes, it's small! You should be numbed up so you shouldn't feel anything except vibration. :)
 
Yep, it's tiny! The handle of the drill is maybe about the size of a pen, and the burs (the business end, what you'd think of as a drill bit) are about the size of the tip of a pencil. If anything, it's smaller than the ultrasonic scaler.

You'll feel a bit of vibration, but it's very similar to the sensation of the ultrasonic scaler when you're numb.


If you wanted, you could ask the dentist to show you it (only if you wanted to see it of course!)
 
Ok thanks you all! Yea when I was cleaned other day that's all I felt from the US scaler was vibration. But as said they had to numb my whole mouth because my teeth were so bad it was going to be very painful for them to get them clean. But once numb it was all vibration other than when they was pulling the tarter off and that just felt like pulling. So hopefully then this won't be to bad and I can get setup and get these 10 fillings done (not all at once) I will probably get two at one time done. I'm ready to get this behind me and move on! I've been brushing twice a day and flossing once since my cleaning was done wed.
 
Good luck for you appointments :clover::clover::clover::butterfly:
 
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