terrified in pain and feeling very pathetic!!

[sigmore1]

hi all, i stumbled accross the website tonight and i have to say its def a nice feeling to know i'm not alone. my dentist fear began as a child-strangely its not the pain or needles i'm afraid of but the actual dentist! the practise i was at didnt allow parents in with kids-needless to say the dentist often got rid of his nurse and abused his position-i found out early not to fight it as he ripped out one of my teeth as a 'punishment'. sorry to write this uneccesarily but i wanted people to get an insight into my fear. unfortunately the fear escalated and now i've let me teeth get into a terrible condition and as many people have already said on here sheer embarrasment and fear are holding me back-i'm 24 and feel quite ashamed-i know i need a lot of work-i just need to find a dentist i can trust and even picking up the phonebook to look brings tears to my eyes-any advice or ways i could perhaps get over the first hurdle would be fantastic.
sorry for bothering you and many thanks

 

[annie778]

Hi sig, most dentists are very professional and ethical people. I am very sorry you had such an awful experience, but your dentist is the one who should be punished or rather treated at a mental health facility. Clearly he was deranged and should not have been allowed near children.

But why are you now punishing yourself by denying yourself good dental care? Don't let this guy ruin your smile. Although having said that, Im sure your teeth are in a much better state than you think. Most people who do not go to a dentist for years fear the worst, but often they just need a few teeth fixed and it's never as bad as they imagine. I didn't go to a dentist for nearly seven years between 17 and 24, I used to lie awake at night imagining all the decay eating my teeth. I went and I needed only one tiny filling! (and a dentist has since said that it is so small I probably did not even need it).

So just try a few dentists. Go just for an initial consultation. Make sure you tell them on the phone that you are a nervous patient. Ask them if you can have a quick consult to make you feel at ease. If they sound unfriendly at all then just say youve changed your mind and cancel the appointment. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do. Best to go by personal recommendation. There are some really nice friendly dentists out there who won't do anything without telling you all the information in advance and doing a treatment plan and explaining it all. Nobody should do anything without your permission.

I'm assuming you can go private? If you are in the UK then you can try to be referred to a community dental practice that specialises in phobic patients. You may need to be referred by your GP.