S
ScaredJo
Member
- Joined
- May 26, 2011
- Messages
- 43
- Location
- UK
Hi
After looking through this website and finding it enormously helpful it was suggested that I start a journal. I know I have a tendency to over think things so here goes.
I am 32 years old and absolutely terrified of dentists. I stopped going to see them when I was about 11. I then went a few times in my early twenties. At the time my dentist was private and he was an incredibly old school patronising man. I would walk in and he would make me feel like the smallest person in the world. I was so scared every time I went and was greeted by a supercilious, patronising man who would treat it like I was being a silly little girl. I then had to move house and thought this would be the perfect time to pretend I would get round to it eventually. So here I am, 32 and about to join the dentist.
What has prompted me to do something about it is I had a tooth that had crumbled away to literally nothing, this I of course ignored, hoping it would go away. It didn't! I then got an abscess at the base of the tooth and that I couldn't ignore. I ended up getting an appointment at the emergency dentist. I plucked up the courage to go, went in and he told me that I would need to take some antibiotics and he couldn't take out the tooth until the course of tablets was completed. That's when I got a bit hysterical and explained that he had to take the tooth out right now. He very nicely, explained that he could do it, but it would hurt a lot more and was I sure. Of course I was sure, it'd taken all my strength to walk through that door, if Id've left then I wouldn't be going back.
He took out the tooth, reassuring me as he did and told me how well I was doing all the way through. He then noticed that I was crying asked me if I wanted him to sing, I said yes and bless the man he sang to me all the way through the extraction! As I was leaving he very calmly told me that I had severe periodontal disease that I had to get looked at or my teeth would fall out and that I needed 'loads' of fillings. He told me that he thought I must drink lots of fizzy drinks. I was embarresed so didn't correct him. I don't drink lots of pop. I brush my teeth properly and use interdental cleaners and antibacterial mouthwashes. I do however have an auto-immune disease that I recently discovered not only affects my body but also makes me more prone to gum disease and such.
I came home and looked at my teeth in the mirror. Sure enough, I have a receding gum line, two of my teeth have moved, pretty much every tooth in my mouth needs filling, I have stained teeth and worst of worst, one of my back teeth on the other side at the bottom has a great big hole in the side. This is how my other tooth started and I am NOT going through that again.
This was about three weeks ago. I have now called and joined an NHS dentist. I have my consultation next Thursday. My heart was doing somersaults when I made the call but I did it. I then as calmly as I could walked back into the office and booked a days holiday for that day, I cannot just take a few hours off and act like everythings fine, I'll be all out to make it through the door.
I keep telling myself I can do this, I HAVE to do this but the panic is creeping in. What if he's horrible? What if mine's the worst mouth they've ever seen? What about when they look at me with that she's never even seen a toothbrush look. What if they tell me that they have to extract all my teeth? What I they tell me nothing and I leave with all these unknowns still flying through my head? And so on...
Roll on next Thursday cos this is driving me insane ...
After looking through this website and finding it enormously helpful it was suggested that I start a journal. I know I have a tendency to over think things so here goes.
I am 32 years old and absolutely terrified of dentists. I stopped going to see them when I was about 11. I then went a few times in my early twenties. At the time my dentist was private and he was an incredibly old school patronising man. I would walk in and he would make me feel like the smallest person in the world. I was so scared every time I went and was greeted by a supercilious, patronising man who would treat it like I was being a silly little girl. I then had to move house and thought this would be the perfect time to pretend I would get round to it eventually. So here I am, 32 and about to join the dentist.
What has prompted me to do something about it is I had a tooth that had crumbled away to literally nothing, this I of course ignored, hoping it would go away. It didn't! I then got an abscess at the base of the tooth and that I couldn't ignore. I ended up getting an appointment at the emergency dentist. I plucked up the courage to go, went in and he told me that I would need to take some antibiotics and he couldn't take out the tooth until the course of tablets was completed. That's when I got a bit hysterical and explained that he had to take the tooth out right now. He very nicely, explained that he could do it, but it would hurt a lot more and was I sure. Of course I was sure, it'd taken all my strength to walk through that door, if Id've left then I wouldn't be going back.
He took out the tooth, reassuring me as he did and told me how well I was doing all the way through. He then noticed that I was crying asked me if I wanted him to sing, I said yes and bless the man he sang to me all the way through the extraction! As I was leaving he very calmly told me that I had severe periodontal disease that I had to get looked at or my teeth would fall out and that I needed 'loads' of fillings. He told me that he thought I must drink lots of fizzy drinks. I was embarresed so didn't correct him. I don't drink lots of pop. I brush my teeth properly and use interdental cleaners and antibacterial mouthwashes. I do however have an auto-immune disease that I recently discovered not only affects my body but also makes me more prone to gum disease and such.
I came home and looked at my teeth in the mirror. Sure enough, I have a receding gum line, two of my teeth have moved, pretty much every tooth in my mouth needs filling, I have stained teeth and worst of worst, one of my back teeth on the other side at the bottom has a great big hole in the side. This is how my other tooth started and I am NOT going through that again.
This was about three weeks ago. I have now called and joined an NHS dentist. I have my consultation next Thursday. My heart was doing somersaults when I made the call but I did it. I then as calmly as I could walked back into the office and booked a days holiday for that day, I cannot just take a few hours off and act like everythings fine, I'll be all out to make it through the door.
I keep telling myself I can do this, I HAVE to do this but the panic is creeping in. What if he's horrible? What if mine's the worst mouth they've ever seen? What about when they look at me with that she's never even seen a toothbrush look. What if they tell me that they have to extract all my teeth? What I they tell me nothing and I leave with all these unknowns still flying through my head? And so on...
Roll on next Thursday cos this is driving me insane ...