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schizophrenia and dentists

Freyja

Freyja

Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2020
Messages
25
Location
Australia
hello,
I found this site recently due to constantly searching things about teeth extractions, so I thought I would post something if not for anything else but at least to vent and hope to hear from others.

I have schizophrenia and a incredibly bad phobia of dentists, most of all teeth extractions and well my last dentist appointment I have been told that I need my top two wisdom teeth out and two teeth next to my right upper wisdom tooth. So basically in 2 weeks I am getting 4 tooth extractions, 4 fillings and a teeth clean.

I am okay with fillings and cleaning because I have had that done a fair bit of times but never had a tooth extraction and my mind is going crazy over it.
With schizophrenia, when I am anxious symptoms of that start occurring much more rapidly and to put it simply is horrifying.

I don't even know what started my fear of teeth getting pulled but I just keep imaging it like out of a horror movie.

I thought the teeth extractions were the worst of my fears till I started reading about them and came across information on dry sockets, so now I am terrified of that.

I have been given 5mg of Valium for my appointment and have no idea if that will help. I don't even know if I am strong enough to force myself into going. thing is I am in no pain what so ever and yeah I am always so anxious ever since I first was told about what is happening.
 
Hi Freyja :welcome:,

glad you found this site and are reaching out. I can't even imagine how it must feel to be in your shoes and you have all my respect for coping with this.

I would say that you are an expert to yourself in this situation and you obviously know what triggers your symptoms and also that you wouldn't like to have it happening. This is a good thing and it might be a good idea to simply have a look at what you can do to approach the things in the less possibly stressful manner.

You mentioned several things that you need to get done and I am not sure whether it is all planned at once or in steps. There are some things that are generally helpful for anyyone who is scared of the dentist and taking things slowly at a healthy pace is the first part. If there are several things needed, it might be a good idea to spread it and start with the less stressful one. This would allow you to get used to things and gain some familiarity with your dental team. It might also help you to find out what is helpful and what isn't. It might be also a way to test drive the valium to see how you react to that and whether it's sufficient. Reading your post it sounds like there are so many unknowns and unknowns is the main thing that causes anxiety.

If the only thing you are afraid of are extractions, how about scheduling an appointment only for you to ask questions and see what can be done to make you feel less worried? If dry socket is what you are afraid of (is incredibly rare and even more for upper extractions), you could discuss scheduling a check-up on the next day after the extractions or a plan what to do if you feel something is not right. Your dentist can give you an immediate relief should this extremely rare complication occure.

May I also suggest taking a look around and reading the nice success stories here instead of google? It might give you more encouragement and reassurance.

Last but not least, would you like to share about how you feel about your practice? Do you feel you can trust them? Do they seem to have understanding for your schizophrenia?

All the best wishes and a huge well done already, you are being very brave.
 
Hi Enarete,
thank you for the welcome :)

yep i definitely know what triggers my anxiety and i normally do everything to avoid those things at all cost, sadly though you can only avoid a dentist for so long and i feel have to confront it sooner or later and it is much better to do it sooner rather than later.. easier said then done of course.

All the things i mentioned that is needed to be done is booked for one appointment. I am very anxious about it because that is a lot to be done in one appointment but on the other side, it will all be over with in a matter of 2 hours (that is how long i am booked for).
But I certainly fear teeth extractions most likely because it doesn't sound good at all and i have never experienced it before.
I am told the worst part of it is the sounds and that doesnt sound overly bad when thinking of that, but i keep picturing teeth getting ripped out of my mouth while i sit there helplessly and it frightens me.

i have been reading a lot of threads on here and it is helping a lot, so i am so very glad i found this place. Google is horrible when searching up this stuff because it feels like endless horror stories.
I really want to confront this fear and hopefully get rid of it by experiencing it but i dont know if i am strong enough to do so..
but honestly the healing is what is scaring me the most now. I know it is silly but still

sorry for the long reply

umm the practise i am with is pretty okay. The dentist i see is very nice but he also seems pretty unaware of just how bad things can get for me with the schizophrenia and how hard it is for me to sit still. But that is understandable i suppose, i am not the best at explaining it and i try hiding my fear a lot.
As for trusting him, well i have seen him only twice now and he is very nice and he has even let me call him and talk to him for a bit while answering my questions. In person, i am very shy and quiet so i dont ask much, over the phone is easier for me and he was very good with it.
He did two fillings for me in December and that went good, long but good.. so i guess i kinda trust him
 
Welcome! This is the right place to be.

I had a terrible fear of extractions, but have had to have four teeth out in the past year. None of them were anywhere as bad as I had imagined. In fact, to me, the extraction was easier than a filling, because it was over so quickly. With a filling, the sounds and length of time bother me so much!
As Enerete said, dry socket is really rare. My oral surgeon told me it is next to impossible to get it with upper extractions unless you do everything you are not supposed to do after extraction.
Enerete has a good idea of asking for an appointment just for questions.
 
Thank you MountainMama,
I am glad your extractions went well and it wasn't a bad as you thought. Fillings do seem to take a while indeed.
Thank you for your reply, honestly hearing about how rare it is to get dry socket with upper extractions is helping a lot.
It makes a lot of sense to get it all done in separate appointments, I agree.. Only thing is the anxiety I get leading up to the appointments. It is hard to cope with. Even just thinking about making a phone call to book a appointment is like torture for me.

I think if the extractions are so quick compared to say fillings, that I am just going to try and be brave and face it all at once. I know it will be horrible leading up to it and not as bad as I keep picturing in my head, and the reward is the feeling when I walk out of there, like hopefully getting rid of a fear I have had ever since I was a child.

hard part is to just keep thinking the positive stuff and not focus on the negatives.
 
I agree with the responses you’ve already gotten, but also want to add that, extractions rarely involve any ‘pulling’ of teeth and are most often done by just moving the tooth very gently until it is free. I wanted to say this because you mentioned that the vision you have is of them being ‘ripped out’, but what happens is very, very different from that. When I had my top wisdom teeth out, I didn’t even realize the dentist had done anything at all when she did they were already out! The recovery for the top ones was also super easy

Also, I had similar fears and am also someone who prefers to get things done all at once because I hate making and waiting for appts - so I totally get that.

Stay away from Google :)
 
I agree with the responses you’ve already gotten, but also want to add that, extractions rarely involve any ‘pulling’ of teeth and are most often done by just moving the tooth very gently until it is free. I wanted to say this because you mentioned that the vision you have is of them being ‘ripped out’, but what happens is very, very different from that. When I had my top wisdom teeth out, I didn’t even realize the dentist had done anything at all when she did they were already out! The recovery for the top ones was also super wash

Also, I had similar fears and am also someone who prefers to get things done all at once because I hate making and waiting for appts - so I totally get that.

Stay away from Google :)

wow seriously? thank you so much for telling me that. I just thought teeth extractions were teeth getting pulled out. Moving the tooth gently till it is free sounds so so much more tolerable especially with the numbing needle thing they give.
I am glad your wisdom teeth removal went so well and I hope mine go like that..
Any tips on after care while healing?
 
Just soft foods that don’t have little pieces to get caught. I liked making smoothies (but no straws). No super hot food at first. I’d say stock up on your favorite ice cream or pudding (I’m in the US - so I know pudding may be something different elsewhere) :)

here’s what our Jell-O and our pudding is: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jell-O
 
good tips, thank you. I was thinking of stocking up on yoghurt and jello, but pudding sounds pretty good.

Thank you to all of you who replied, it has helped me a lot and put me at ease. I wish i found this site so much earlier
 
Please let us know how it goes!!
 
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