taking the first steps but terrified

[j130]

Hiya everyone ,
Its so great to find this place and realize i am not alone.
I haven't sat in a dentist chair for 15 years and my mouth is in a terrible state , i now i have very bad gum diesese so many of my teeth are loose i am convinced that i will loose them if i got to a dentist.

I have been a terrible mum and been so scared that i didn't even take my children to the dentist , I would get terrified just dialing a number to register my children witha dentist and hang up before it was answered , numerous time i have made the appointment and then cancelled at the last minute .

I am now taking my children to the dentist and getting used to being in the dentist surgery again, she seems lovelly and I can imagine that I could possiby let her look at my mouth one day .

It needs to be soon but I am so terrified of what they will say or what may need doing , I keep wishng that the pain wuld get so bad i can't cope with it and would have to see a dentist . I wish i could make an appointment and go in the same day or next day but there is a 3 month wait for appointments and I always chicken out before it comes around.

I don't know what I am going to do or how i am going to do it but it feels great just to be able to express my fears to someone.

 

[Nat]

Hi J130

Everyone here has either had or still does have a dental phobia of sorts so your not alone in this. Is the dentist you take your children to see accepting any new patients? You say your quite comfortable taking your children to see her and that she seems lovely so maybe she could help you take the first step? I had a long road ahead of me when I first decided to see a dentist and now I am finished with my dental treatment and would say I am no longer phobic, yes I am scared of dental visits and treatment but no where near on the same scale as before Christmas! I got this far with a fantastic dentist who has helped me tremendously. I wrote down a list of everything I was afraid of and took it along to my first appointment, This really helped me as I was very upset and knew I wouldnt be able to communicate properly with the dentist!

I never went to a dentist for 8 years or so and knew the time had come when I was in severe pain, I wish now I didnt wait for the pain to come before I did anything as I lost 4 teeth due to this so please dont wait for the pain to begin as it could be too late to save any teeth that could perhaps be fixed.

There are many ways these days for a nervous patient to be treated, perhaps with sedation or just the care and compassion you can get from a good dentist will be the answer for you? Dentistry really has come a long way and a dental procedure should not hurt you in anyway. Please let us know if we can help or if you have any more questions. You made a good decision to post here as we are a friendly bunch who will try to advise you along the way!

 

[Andria]

Just wanted to say hi, you've taken a big step posting your story here. We will help you, Nat's given you lots of good advice and if there's anything else we can help with, we will.

There is always someone with a story or experience to share and helpfull advice to give.

Wish you the best of luck in finding a dentist. Let us know how you get on.

Take Care
x

 

[j130]

I just wanted to come back and let you all know that I have finally plucked up the courage to visit a dentist . Its been a long time since I posted this and It took me this long to do it.

I have today just had the second part of my deep cleening done and Stand to possibly loose a few teeh and have denture before I hit 40 but they are trying to save them and I'm doing everything they tell me .

How did I overcome my fear - MY eldest daughter left schol and is training to be a dental nurse , she made me an appointment with the nicest dentist in her practice ( and she has good judgeent my dentist is great) and didn;t tell me until the the morning of the appointment so i couldn't get myself too worked up.

and you know once I was in the chair it was fine , my fear was all about what they would find when they looked and you know what , It doesn;t really matter what they found just that i am getting it delt with whatever that involves

 

[scaredstiff]

What a wonderful story and such an unusual way to beat a fear. So all of you out there with sons and daughters about to embark on a career, you now know what direction to push them in. Not only will it help overcome your fears, it could help on the financial side too!
Joking aside, you have done tremendously well and you have just the right frame of mind now - you've summed it up beautifully in your last sentence.