Terrified of Full extractions Next month! help.

[Aria2632]

So.... I have finally talked with a dentist who I felt comfortable around to some extent in over 12 years of ignoring major dental work. Die to a bad experience where I was not asked permission to put gas on my face after procedure started. And had my hands held down by an assistant as they had to extract a tooth. I now need a complete extraction of 18 teeth at least and dentures. And I spoke with dentist he knows I have anxiety but one as fine when talking to him but have now set a date. And it's 4weeks away. And I am terrified and beating myself up... like I can't do this.
What If he is the same as last dentist? What if he doesn't stop when it hurts? What if I I have a panic attack will he take time to let me calm myself? I can't even look at a dental chair without sweaty palms and increase fidgeting. I am terrified and I don't know what I should do about it. Any help would be amazing!!!

 

[saralou35]

Would you be allowed to take a friend or family member in with you to assist with things if you wanted them to stop? Might be worth asking! X

 

[Judythecat]

If you are very anxious, might you be able to be sedated, or to take something like Valium (prescribed by your doctor) beforehand? Would you be able to ring the surgery before your appointment and explain how worried you are, and get advice?

I know it’s not the same, but I had a tooth out last year and was absolutely terrified, so I really sympathise. I am not afraid of treatment but the idea of an extraction really, really scared me. My dentist is very kind and patient, and I actually had to stop for a break midway through - she always says to raise a hand if I need to stop during any treatment - plus the dental nurse held my hand through most of it. Dentists are used to dealing with anxious and scared people, and will usually go out of their way to make things as tolerable as possible.

 

[Aria2632]

Thank you. I am gonna have a sit down with my dentist and he said he will go over everything and also we will talk about what signs we can use to have open communication during the whole procedure. Still doesn't help the nerves and how scared I am of the "what if" possibilities. But I know I can trust this dentist, so I'm hope after our sit down this helps

 

[Violintides]

I had to get four teeth extracted all in various parts of my mouth. I have another thread open here about it (because the post-op swelling is REALLY bad due to the bone grafts that I think he overstuffed and he really butchered the hell out of the roof of my mouth!). I got general anesthesia and I strongly recommend you do as well. Having THAT many teeth taken out is much easier when it's all done under general. If you can get a friend to sit for the hour or two it takes for your procedure (it likely won't take longer than an hour; but maybe two hours since it's so many teeth), then drive you home and give you the medications you need.

I also STRONGLY recommend Soylent Cacao (it tastes just like a chocolate milkshake i swear to god) for post-op sustenance, you can buy it on smile.amazon.com (using Amazon Smile lets you support a charity of your choice for no extra charge). Whenever you have extractions done you have to be on a liquid diet for awhile, and this Soylent helps you get plenty of protein without making you feel hungry all the time. Make sure you drink TONS of water, too, for your healing, but also because Soylent can make you feel a little nauseous when you are first getting used to it, so def drink lots of water with it, don't chug the Soylent. I strongly recommend making sure you ask for lots of ice packs after the surgery. Everyone says during the first 24-48 hours after the surgery you want to put an ice pack on for 20 minutes, then take it off for 20 minutes, then repeat. This will reduce swelling tremendously, and no one ever told me about it, so it was very frustrating for me, lol.

I understand anxiety, it's why I HAVE to be put under for any oral surgical stuff (root canals/extractions/even cleanings hurt me a lot). So I hope that all of this information helps prep you!! It's totally understandable to be scared. Being prepared will help that!! Feel free to read my thread to see my post-op photos (kinda gruesome, I warn ya) to see my healing process so far. Keep us updated!

 

[Sevena]

Thank you. I am gonna have a sit down with my dentist and he said he will go over everything and also we will talk about what signs we can use to have open communication during the whole procedure. Still doesn't help the nerves and how scared I am of the "what if" possibilities. But I know I can trust this dentist, so I'm hope after our sit down this helps

I had full extractions - all the teeth in my mouth. It should be fine - extractions are actually one of the easiest procedures. It is much easier to extract a tooth than to drill down to the nerves and fill it. Extractions are quick too.

If you set up signals with the dentist, he won't ignore them. Have you talked about twilight sedation or even general anesthesia? They are scary for some people too, and if you'd rather be conscious during the appointment, that is just fine also.

The healing was a breeze for me by the way. It was about 1000% times easier than dealing with the DREAD leading up to the appointment. I was tender but not in pain. So much more preferable to that "oh god, what if everything goes wrong" and complete fear of the unknown I had beforehand. It was an emotional time, to be honest, having that many extractions is a little bit of a shock, because your mouth is very sensitive and at first it's like "whoa everything feels different". But I adjusted SO fast. Within a couple of days I was eating soft solid foods like boiled potatoes and mince meat, and talking to friends.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask. Plenty of people here are qualified to answer! You'll get through this, I promise

 

[krlovesherkids777]

Aria,

This is really hard.. I'm really glad you can have a good sit down with your dentist and go over possible stop signs and ways to communicate when you need to in treatment. I hope this dentist is one that is very anxiety attuned and empathetic to you going through this process. It is a good sign he/she will sit with you and discuss ahead of time to make sure you are comfortable.

I know I had the same thing happen as a child between 10-14. my dentist would give me nitrious and they would hold me down and do painful work and then tell me I was making it up and to be quiet.. It took me years and years.. (till I was 31 to find one I felt remotely comfortable with) now I'm 49 and found one I hope to keep... (please). that is very kind and good.. we've discussed nitrious and I told him no way because of my past experience.

I hope you can find the best option for you whether its local or ga or valium or similiar. They can all be good and safe if that is what your dentist decides and you feel a peace with it.

I can say from both my dental and as my experience as a massage therapist and training, these trauma experiences do "stay in our body" and we can react at a trigger such as further work or simliar experiences, so just good you have communication and plan on how to be kind and relieve yourself if you feel any anxiety about what your dentist is doing and good they know how to help you . It sounds like his /her willingness to talk ahead they might be good .. really hope all goes well.