Terrified of my upcoming appointment

[dlennr]

Hi everyone,
I just joined this forum. When I was a child, I was taken for a cleaning every 6 months. I never had any real problems with my teeth, other than having to get my wisdom teeth out, and I was put under for that. I stopped going to the dentist several years ago but then developed a cavity on the back of one of my front teeth. I finally went to a new dentist to get it checked out. I discovered that not only do I have a cavity, but the gum grew into the hole, so they are going to have to remove a part of the gum. They will not know how bad the cavity is until that is done. My appointment is on Tuesday morning, and I am absolutely terrified. More than anything, I am afraid of the needle going into my gums. Secondly, I wish I didn't have to be aware of any of it, b/c the very thought of what they have to do makes me want to faint!

 

[Patti]

Have you ever had injections before? For me, the injections are nothing. It's like a bee sting that only lasts a few seconds--and I only really feel the first couple of them. Can you get N2O for the treatment? That sure takes the edge off!

 

[dlennr]

Thanks for the reply! The hygienist told me that they do have gas for people who are afraid of needles. But no, I've never had an injection, and that's part of my problem -fear of the unknown. I asked how much the procedure would hurt, and she said not at all, but that the needle would be the worst part, so that tells me that it won't be painless.

Have you ever had injections before? For me, the injections are nothing. It's like a bee sting that only lasts a few seconds--and I only really feel the first couple of them. Can you get N2O for the treatment? That sure takes the edge off!

 

[Patti]

Well then you have nothing to worry about ! I got a bunch of shots for my extraction and I really only felt the first two and I winced for a second and that was the end of it. Get the numbing gel before the shot.

 

[letsconnect]

Now... I can't pretend to be an expert on bees, but I've been stung by a bee twice and it was extremely painful . In contrast, I can't say I've ever felt very much during dental injections . But maybe bees in other parts of the world are able to give painless stings??

 

[carole]

Hi dlennr please do not be worried about the injections ask them if they have the topical gel, most dentists do. If they do ask them to use it on your gum before they inject, they put some of the gel on a roll and hold it on your gum before injecting. Ask them if they could inject you really slowly, and you won't feel it, I have had a lot of injections since September and they have not hurt me, I haven't had any in the front of my mouth. Tell the dentist you are really afraid and that you haven't had an injection before. The most I have ever felt from and injection has been a 2 second sting. Ask them to test that you are really numb before they start on your tooth, and if you feel anything tell them and they can give you more numbing stuff, you won't feel it because you will be numb in the injection area. Arrange a stop signal before the dentist starts then if you need a break or if you do feel anything while they are working they will stop.

I also have been stung by a wasp, but I think it is much the same as a bee, they really kill for ages, the dental injection is nothing like this to me, and the wasp sting doesn't go numb either.

Good luck with your appointment, let us know how you get on.

 

[letsconnect]

I might live to eat my words - apparently, there ARE huge differences between bee species (namely the sweat bee vs. the honey bee). Apparently, the sting of the sweat bee is almost painless. So it looks like I was stung by honey bees!

You learn something new every day ...

 

[carole]

You most certainly do learn things, especially on here, all the same I would rather not be stung by anything, thank you very much.

 

[kitkat]

You most certainly do learn things, especially on here, all the same I would rather not be stung by anything, thank you very much.

So true Carole! I've never been stung by bees but I have been stung by wasps and I can honestly say there is a HUGE difference. I would take 100 dental injections (with my personal dentist) over 1 wasp sting. An injection done right should be painless. Hoping you are pleasantly surprised by how easy it is. An injection in your mouth is not anything like an injection in your arm (which always hurt in my opinion). I think they just seem more intimidating because the area seems more vulnerable and invasive. Honestly I would also prefer dental injections than injections in the arm but that's just me.

 

[Rock Chick]

I don't have much to add as others have already done that really well. Make sure they give the numbing gel at least a few mins to work & as others have said make sure it really is numb, after that you should barely feel a thing. I myself don't have much of an issue with dental injections but like most people don't like them either, I'd take numbing gel any day.

Also I was surprised when people said how bad it felt when they were stung by wasps. As a teenager I was stung by 1 and yes it was worse than any injection I've had but that was more because the pain lingered but as for how bad the actual pain was, not good for sure but I've had far worse from many others things. The thing that's more annoying about them is unlike bees they don't die straight away after stinging, I wanted to make sure it was dead or far away from me so it didn't attack again.

 

[carole]

I haven't been stung by a bee, but the wasp sting is the sting that keeps on giving, it hurts and itches for ages, and if you rub it even the day after it still gives you jip.

I also would take a dental injection over one in the arm too and I don't like them, but my dentist hasn't hurt me with one, I just don't like them.

 

[Rock Chick]

Carole, now I'm feeling somewhat extraordinary over not having issues with a wasp sting, you certainly have amazing abilities over other people!

 

[kitkat]

Also I was surprised when people said how bad it felt when they were stung by wasps. As a teenager I was stung by 1 and yes it was worse than any injection I've had but that was more because the pain lingered but as for how bad the actual pain was, not good for sure but I've had far worse from many others things. The thing that's more annoying about them is unlike bees they don't die straight away after stinging, I wanted to make sure it was dead or far away from me so it didn't attack again.

Once when I was very young (around 6 years old) I had a wasp fly up my dress while playing in a friend's yard and it stung me 5 times! 3 times on the stomach, once on my neck, and once on my finger...that was far more traumatic than any dental appointment I've ever experienced! So I'm probably biased when I say I'd prefer dental injections to wasp stings.

 

[Patti]

Nobody like my bee sting comparison, huh? Well, I've been stung by a bee plenty of times. The initial sting doesn't really hurt I don't think? Bee stings hurt later. Injections don't hurt later.

 

[carole]

Carole, now I'm feeling somewhat extraordinary over not having issues with a wasp sting, you certainly have amazing abilities over other people!

What?

 

[Rock Chick]

Carole, seems my joke feel down flat, it was complimentary though.

 

[carole]

Carole, seems my joke feel down flat, it was complimentary though.

I am sometimes slow on the uptake, sorry I didn't get it oh deary me, it doesn't take much to confuse me

 

[dlennr]

Thanks for the encouragement, everybody! I made it through my appointment today. You guys were right, the injection just felt like a little sting, and that was really the only thing I felt. They didn't give me any gas, just got right to work. They used the numbing gel. So now I know that I don't have to fear the pain, which is good b/c I have to go back next month for a root canal. The worst parts of it for me were the claustrophic feeling while they were leaning over me, and having to lie in that chair for so long. So I guess what I need to focus on now is thinking about something else during the procedure so that the time goes by more quickly.

 

[carole]

CONGRATULATIONS YOU DID IT I AM REALLY PLEASED FOR YOU.

Don't worry about the root canal treatment you will still feel no pain.

 

[Carys]

Is it a kind of trapped feeling, rather than a claustrophobic feeling ? A kind of feeling that you want to get away and can't ? The reason I ask is that if that is the case then you could ask your dentist if you can have breaks now and again if you need them, sometimes just knowing that you can get up and 'escape' is enough to make it possible to stress less during the appointment. I know as I've needed 'panic breaks' Once I knew I was able to easily get up out of the chair during a long appointment, I felt that I always had an escape route, but didn't need to use it.