The raise your hand part

[Starlight25]

Hi
I’ve just booked my first appointment with a private dentist I have anorexia so my teeth at the back need a lot of work. I am seriously phobic I have adhd and OCD and can’t stand the noise of the drill.
One of my biggest fears is suddenly feeling pain while they are working but what scares me is the dentist always says raise your hand if you want me to stop or something along those lines and as soon as they say that that’s when I freak out properly. Does this mean that feeling pain is likely ? Could someone just help me understand why they say that ?
Thankyou

 

[Gordon]

Most people like to pre-arrange a "stop" signal. Whether that's raising a hand or something else. it's not necessarily because something is going to be painful, maybe you want to have a little break for another reason, e.g. to swallow or to just move your jaw around a bit.
It doesn't mean feeling pain is likely, it's just the dentist trying to be nice to you.

 

[sudzs]

I feel just the same @Starlight25. I always think that pain is likely when the dentist says to raise my hand if I need them to stop. I'm autistic and have ADHD too so going for dental treatment is always full of anxiety. Even if it's just a check up. But I honestly say that the only pain I've ever felt during treatment is from the needle which is brief and sometimes during a clean as I've receding gums and have sensitivity on some teeth. I've had an awful lot of work done over the years and never felt any pain during excavations. But I still fear the worst every time!