Temporary Filling Anxiety...

[Titch]

Hi all,

I’m new here so...hi!

I’m hoping someone can help me with some answers please?

Yesterday morning I was eating breakfast and heard a crunch and then realised my tooth was cracked (for any dentists here it’s my “L5”. I wasn’t in pain but I knew I needed to get it taken care of or I would be. I tried to get a dental appointment but no one is taking anyone new on due to COVID and I recently moved. I ended up calling 111 as recommended by one of the dental practices I spoke to and they booked me in for this morning.

I went along and explained to the dentist that I was a nervous patient and asked her not to take it personally (I had some bad experiences as a kid and its stayed with me). She didn’t care a bit and was like very blunt, I sat in the chair and was shaking and she just straight away shoved an X-ray thing in my mouth. She was quite rough and to be honest it hurt the roof of my mouth. After the X-ray she made an irritated comment about me moving (I was shaking despite trying to stay still) and said I had a hole in my L5 and that it would need a root canal. She then said she could either fill it with a temp filling and I could come back or she could extract it because the drilling dentist wouldn’t be there until the afternoon. To be honest, after how rough she was with me I sure as monkeys wasn’t letting her pull my tooth out! So I went with temporary. Again, she wasn’t exactly gentle and I left feeling really emotional and freaked out. Once the temporary filling was in she ushered me out fast, I had to slow her down and ask her how long I should leave it alone for and all I got was “an hour should be fine” and ushered out.My husband checked it for me and said he thinks it looks okay and like it’s my actual tooth. It’s a bit sensitive but not painful. But now to be honest I’m too anxious to eat on it. I haven’t eaten since before I went to my appointment at 10am because I’m too worried I’ll knock it out and be in agony! I have anxiety anyway (I know this isn’t an anxiety forum, I have one of those lol) so this whole this is only making that worse!

I don’t even know what filling she used, only that she didn’t need to numb be and put Vaseline over it after and didn’t seem concerned about me eating or drinking on it since she gave me no advice. That clinic also won’t take me on as a patient so I’m having to go private. I have a phone conversation on Friday with a private dentist (the receptionist there was really lovely and specifically put me with a patient dentist who doesn’t mind nervous patients) but I’m freaking out and too scared to eat and now terrified of a root canal situation! I used to take my mum in with me for support but obviously that isn’t possible right now! I’m sorry this is so long and “ahhh” but I just need some advice from perhaps a dentist or someone who gets it! No one I know is scared of the dentist so they don’t get it. My Mum has had temp fillings before and she insisted that mine will be fine if I take care of it but I’m still freaking out.

Again, I’m really sorry for the rambling long freak out post but I don’t know where else to ask!

Thanks in advance to anyone who answers!

 

[Enarete]

Hi Titch ,

I am so sorry and a bit shocked that this was your experiece with the dentist! It sounds like the dentist didn't care at all and ignored your discomfort and your needs altogether! You must be realy tough to manage to get through the visit like that!

You can't imagine how relieved I am that you will be seeing a private dentist on Friday and that the receptionist made you feel welcome. A private dentist will want you to come back so they will most likely do their best to put you at ease and make you feel heard. Please let us know how things will go on Friday.

Given the distress the whole visit caused you, altogether with the fear beforehand (and surely a shock about the cracked tooth!) I see how you don't want to touch the filling and bring yourself into troubles. Hope a dentist replies on the durability of the temporary filling. I am pretty sure it's safe to eat on it, but your comfort is the most important thing here so if you feel better chewing on the other side then it's fine. Hope the dentist tomorrow can reassure you and give you the information you need.

All the best wishes and keep us posted. By the way, this is the best place in the world wide web for rambling and freak out posts about the dentist so feel free to write as much as you like

 

[Titch]

Hi Enarete,

Thank you for replying! Unfortunately she made me feel like I was on a production line and she just wanted me out! My teeth aren’t in the best condition for several reasons, a dentist butchered me in the past (that is not an exaggeration, I have many scars on my inside cheeks from the horrendous work that was done by one dentist when I was a kid/teen who has since lost his license). I suffered in silence when I was younger until the pain became too much, I now have a gold half crown because a decent dentist had to fix the dodgy filling work the original dentist did that was essentially slicing my mouth apart. I had an okay experience with the crown but I still avoided the dentist and unfortunately because of bad life choices (drugs when I was younger, smoking and an eating disorder) my poor teeth have felt the brunt of it but I’m too scared to go to a dentist regularly!

Hopefully this private dentist will be better, I did specifically ask for a patient and understanding dentist so I pray they will be - just the cost to worry about now!

Thank you for your support and understanding! It is greatly appreciated!

 

[Titch]

Hi all,

I’m hoping someone can relate/help to calm my anxiety.

To provide an update for the above post. I went to a private dentist and she advised that the damage to the tooth was extensive and that I could have RCT if I was desperate to save the tooth but in her opinion I was better off with an extraction due to the extent of the damage.

Well today was the day and I went along, she was very patient as was the dental nurse and I had it all out in 10 minute. Perfect. I was proud of how I’d handled it and happy with how they’d been with me.

However...After the extraction she told me all the do’s and don’ts (was a bit irked by the no smoking thing because she knows I’m a smoker and I would’ve liked to have known before as I hadn’t smoked since waking up in order to be polite to the woman going near my mouth but not the worlds biggest deal) she told me that smoking was GUARANTEED to cause dry socket if I didn’t wait 48 hours etc (which since looking on here I’ve discovered isn’t exactly true but I can handle not smoking for a couple of days). She then told me that alcohol was okay if I really wanted but to drink it through a straw...and to drink all my other drinks through a straw for the first couple of days....

Since looking on here I’ve discovered the polar opposite advice. This has left me anxious and quite frankly angry. She knows I’m a nervous patient, yet insisted on scaring me over smoking but then advises me to do one of the main things I see dentists tell patients NOT to do. (It doesn’t help that when I’m anxious/angry I want to smoke even more!)

I’m hoping a dentist can help me here because I now feel like I can’t trust her advice. I’m not going to smoke but I now feel terrified to eat or drink anything.

Really hoping someone can help here please.

Thanks in advance.