• 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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Super, super petrified of dental scaling and cleaning I desperately need.

Karichan,

One thing that really helped me was emailing the dental offices and telling them how frightened I was about it the same morning, and really I told them I just felt like cancelling I was so scared.. They gently and kindly encouraged me to come and my hygentist would take the best care of me which she did. and I can honestly say that scaling was the best and easiest cleaning I've ever had. Be up front with you about your fears as much as possible and they will help you best they can. Wishing you the best.
 
I'm not gonna cancel the appointment no matter how scared I am... It has to be done unfortunately.. I'm currently up 5am because I literally can't sleep because I'm up worrying about it.. I'll try calling the office later to see if they may have something to help. 20mg of Valium did nothing but make me a little sleepy last time.. it didn't stop me from freaking out majorly..
 
Karichan,

Let us know how your cleaning went.. Hope all went ok..:grouphug:
 
Well, I did make the appointment. The nurses and dentist talked with me about a dental plan and what to do. I didn't get a cleaning since the x-rays and exam showed I have hardened calculus under the gum line between a bunch of my teeth. They didn't want to cause me pain or rush anything. I have a total of 6 cavities but only need 1 root canal thankfully on the tooth that was cracked apart. They plan to do all the work while I'm under sedation, in two parts, starting with the right side first (the side with the broken tooth), and the entire cleaning along with drilling and filling the 2 cavities on the right side, and a temporary crown on the broken tooth. The left side is basically just 3 minor cavities and also the permanent crown with the same type of sedation. The week before will include a follow up of how the procedure will take place, sedation timing (liquid sedation orally) and they estimate that it'll take about 2.5-3 hours total. Second procedure will come in at 1.5-2 hours long a couple weeks later. They are hoping that I'll only have mild pain after each surgery but are prepared for at least 2 weeks on antibiotics and 3-5 days on pain meds. I'm super nervous for the entire procedure. I'm surprisingly good with handling pain, as long as I have mild pain meds and ice cream. Honestly, I thought I'd have more cavities but I was lucky. Even though the right side broken tooth cracked because of the cavity, they said most of the cavity actually came out when the tooth broke. The left side cavity I knew about had also not gotten super bad but they said that it was on its' way to the same fate if I waited much longer.
 
Karichan,

Sounds like your dental team is very careful and I love that they don't rush things and make a very detailed plan to do it in good timing and let you know exactly what is going on. Sounds like a great team. do you have dates for this ? Keep us updated.
 
Yeah, first appointment is already scheduled for June 25th.. in a week basically.. I'm terrified still.. I handle being put out physically, but not mentally.. everything comes with risk and that scares me.. it's liquid sedative since I can't swallow pills.. Halycion, I believe. 3 doses. I'm scared about remembering as well or becoming conscious during the procedure and getting scared..
 
I only got a couple more days until the surgery.. I'm super freaked out but trying not to be.. The dentists office hasnt called to explain much, nor am I finding it easy to stay calm and not back out.. I'm worried about what pain meds I'm gonna be on afterwards and that they'll be liquid since I can't swallow pills. I'm not sure if they took me seriously when I told them that..
 
Can you call or email..telling them you are really anxious and need reassurnement before your procedure? my typical thing is I email.. if I'm really nervous that way I get it out there so they know but its not as vulnerable as calling. my office usually does call me back to talk.
 
I tried calling just after and they said that the lady who handles the meds will call me back Monday.. they also didn't have my request for liquid meds and they basically wouldn't explain what meds they'll have me taking either because I have to wait until Monday.. they also can't tell me if they are giving me painkillers or antibiotics for after the procedure either :( I'm more scared now..
 
Hope they explain things alot better on Monday. I have to take liquid meds too because I can't swallow so I get that part too.
 
Have you ever been sedated...? I think I'm more scared of waking from the sedation at any point.. they said it would take up to 2 hours to get everything done but the stuff they were saying would put me out only last for an hour and a half.. I don't want to wake up while it's going on.. I'm also scared about actually being put out as well..
 
I've had IV sedation a few times and scared everytime giong in but it went smooth as can be and all the sudden you are done and don't remember a thing. Personally I've had many things done under iv sedation and dont remember a thing.
 
They're doing oral sedation for me with a combo of 2 meds over 8 hours leading up to combat anxiety and to help me relax better since Valium does nothing. I'm hoping it works since it's not covered by insurance. I do have to be put under twice like this. I was told that I continued to need to be restrained past the time I remember being knocked out for my IV sedation. I also require O2 during all procedures.
 
Sorry to read they weren't able to give you the information you need by now. I hope they get back to you on Monday and explain to you everything you need to know. Your post after the last visit sounded really happy and optimistic and I got the impression that your dental team takes care of you well. Remember they can't do any procedure before you allowed them to so before you agree to anything, just ask them all questions you need to know. You have your fears and your past experiences and it is normal that there are things worrying you. I could imagine that they can't tell you much about what meds will you need afterwards as it might depend on how the treatment went but there still should be enough other questions they will be able to answer.
 
I am optimistic about it. But also very nervous and scared because while physically I can handle being put out well, mentally it's terrifying. I've also never been on a lot of meds so I'm skeptical of everything I'm prescribed (not a lot considering how little I visit doctors unless I'm in pain or know for sure that I need antibiotics). After a couple different anti-anxiety meds don't work on you like they should, you tend to get nervous when other different ones are going to be used when numerous others have already failed.
 
I can understand your fear. I also am not comfortable with the idea of being “knocked out.” I have only had 1 experience and it was with IV sedation years ago...it didn’t really work exactly as it should have but it worked well enough to do what was needed without traumatizing me so it was sufficient, I guess..the office was very honest with me that it did not work as it should have so I’m very skeptical of ever trying it again. I almost wonder if I was not dosed properly because the initial dose that was supposed to put me to sleep just made me dizzy for a second and then I returned to normal. After a second dose I went to sleep but I remember the sensation of forcefully falling asleep which I did not like and then I kept resurfacing throughout the procedure. I never fully “woke up” and was totally aware but I remember being in and out and knowing that I was actually under sedation...which is a very weird feeling. I was never scared..I didn’t really care about anything happening (maybe that was because of the sedation) but I have memories of being under sedation (which I’m told isn’t supposed to happen) and the staff told my mom that I kept waking up and required more medication to stay under. It felt like when you first wake up in the morning and you are too tired to open your eyes...my mouth was completely numb so I had no idea what exactly was going on in my mouth but I knew I was at the dentist, I knew I was having my wisdom teeth out, I can recall specific songs that were playing on the radio...it felt kind of dream like...the whole thing was just a bizarre experience.
 
I hope it's not like that for me really. As much as I'm anxious about being put out, I think I'm more afraid of waking up or being conscious during the procedure. I know I won't be sleeping well the night before so I'm hoping that'll help the meds to make me extra tired so I stay out. I'm not really sure as to what sort of reassurance I'm looking for.. My husband has tried to get me to continuously practice driving as to distract me but it only helps for a little while.
 
Okay, so I'm basically functional again. Everything went fairly well on both sides. They were only able to.get my root canal, temp crown and full cleaning done(boy do my front teeth feel weird). No cavities filled yet but they're sure that my next appointment will be tons easier so they should be able to do all 5 and permanent crown then. I was super nervous and cried all day the day before but the meds they prescribed helped me to get mostly decent sleep through the night then a bit before more on my way to the appointment. They made it super calming to do nitrous and knock me out for the procedure. I woke up while they were still work towards the end ( I didn't open my eyes, just talked a bit), but wasn't scared at all and couldn't feel any pain. I'm not so scared about the next procedure as long as they keep it just like that. I feel like I can handle it better now...

Thank you everyone for your kind words and understanding patience.. I probably wouldn't have come this far without y'alls help and my small support system outside of here.
I'll continue to update as well and talk to everyone before my next appointment.
 
That is so great! Today marks a huge turning point and milestone in your journey! Well done! You should be so proud of yourself! You faced your biggest fears and lived to tell about it!
 
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