• Dental Phobia Support

    Welcome! This is an online support group for anyone who is has a severe fear of the dentist or dental treatment. Please note that this is NOT a general dental problems or health anxiety forum! You can find a list of them here.

    Register now to access all the features of the forum.

Two days until extraction, terrified

M

mouthsewnshut

Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2015
Messages
98
I have been putting off having my wobbly wisdom tooth out. For awhile now. My dentist doesn't use sedation so he referred me to a clinic that deals with anxious patients and I saw a couple dentists there and I was not comfortable with them, so I tried to justify keeping my tooth. It has no decay, it's that the gum and bone have receded and cause inflammation, on and off. The last dentist I saw, she seemed better, nicer, listened to my concerns and didn't push me into anything. she gave me three options, the first was that we do nothing for now, and they close my case, if my tooth starts acting up again, I can get referred again. Second option is I come back for a trial of nitrous oxide, to see how i react to it and if I like it. Then I go home. The third option is that I go in, and agree with her that if I try the gas and it makes me feel ok, then she an take the tooth out.

I know that it will eventually have to come out and i am just torturing myself when I forever postpone the extraction, it plays in the back of my mind all the time and I have been really anxious and stressed over the past months. The rational part of me says Go for door number 3, have it out and get it over with. The phobic side of me is curled up in a little ball and is terrified and is saying no no no no. I am pretty sure I will go for it, but I am so scared, I don't know what will happen after, I am anticipating so much fear, freaking out knowing that my tooth is out, I am not coping well at all. I explained that I also have a phobia of being sick, and that the blood clot would pose a problem so she came up with a solution, they have some sort of dissolvable foam that she can put in the hole to hold the clot in. But I am still scared.

How do you cope with the aftermath of an extraction? I need help to deal with this, it's driving me nuts :(
 
You're being really brave going for door number 3. I know fine well how hard it is to face that, especially when your anxious side just wants to bury its head in the sand! Having anxiety is like being split in two. There's a sensible, logical version of you, and then a scared, illogical version, and they both speak at the same time. It drives me crazy :p

A lot of people on the forum have had good experiences with nitrous oxide, so don't worry about that. And it seems that everyone is terrified of "dry socket"; losing the clot after an extraction. One thing to remember is that dry socket is a rare complication, and you can minimise your risk by not smoking, not drinking using a straw, and being gentle when rinsing your mouth and eating/drinking.

I would expect some swelling and pain/tenderness after the extraction. Take it easy for a little while after. Rest up and look after yourself. Get comfy and watch your favourite shows or movies. Don't examine the extraction site in the mirror! So many people do this, and panic because they don't think it looks normal! The things to watch out for are sharp increases in pain and a fever. Those can signal an infection, but that's not the end of days either. That generally just means some antibiotics.

I hoped some of this information helped. The unknown is scary, but it's pretty much never as scary as we think it's going to be.

:hug4:
 
Thank you for taking the time to reply I really appreciate, and yes my rational sane side says Yes yes be brave, that's the thing to do. The phobic side says I am not brave but stupid ;) It is really hard like you say, to have both sides battling each other, I just feel a wreck!

With the vomiting phobia adding to the whole picture, I am so worried about feeling sick afterwards, about the little spongy thing falling out and having blood in my mouth, the clot in my mouth, that just totally freaks me out. The stuff she is putting will hopefully keep everything out of the way and I hope that my tongue will behave and stay away. Tongues can be like annoying lodgers, they just do whatever they want and you can't do anything about it. I also have a vivid imagination, I think most phobics do, and I find it really difficult to not visualise what happened. Or at the moment, what is going to happen.

Luckily I don't smoke, and trust me, I have no intention of looking at the extraction site, my bathroom floor is harder than my head! :)

I don't know if I will be able to relax afterwards. When I get home, I have a feeling I might just curl up on the sofa and cry. I will probably take my cuddle bunny with me, like one other member said she'd take a little bear with her. They can think what they want of me, I don't think they will judge, they have met me and they know to what extent I am terrified. And it is getting more and more real now as there is only 2 days to go, not even 48 hours. I will go and buy mushy foods and smoothies for afterwards I guess!

Trying really hard to not fret!
 
Hi.

I'm sorry you're dealing with this. I know how hard it can be to go through a dental procedure and feel terrified about that. I've actually done that a couple of times recently, due to needing some urgent work done.

I just tried nitrous oxide for the first time today and I loved it. It totally took away my anxiety and trust me I was a nervous wreck until they gave it to me. My appointment was 2 1/2 hours, but it felt like 15 - 20 minutes. I'd highly recommend trying it.

The other option is, if you can afford it, IV sedation. Most dentists will also prescribe an anti-anxiety pill of some kind if you want. Mine offered me Valium, but I chose the nitrous oxide and it worked wonders. The down side to IV sedation and anti-anxiety medication is that you need a ride and you'll be groggy for some time afterwards.

I have used IV sedation once for extractions. I had 8 teeth out at once in preparation for a jaw surgery. These were 4 wisdom teeth (2 impacted) and 4 other teeth. It's nice if you can afford it.

Don't feel ashamed to take a stuffed animal or some other comfort item with you if you feel it'll help you. I just recently started taking my stuffed bear with me to appointments and it helps me to feel so much better, even if I don't have the nitrous, for like a shorter appointment.

I personally find it helpful to have a routine when I go to the dentist. My new dental office is very good about working with me. They know I prefer appointments first thing in the morning whenever possible. For all appointments I take my bear with me and hold him in my left hand. I take a stress ball with me and hold it in my right hand. This keeps me from fidgeting and moving too much and I can squeeze them both when I'm feeling anxious and it helps to calm me down. I also take portable CD player with ear buds and a CD of a mix of songs to listen too. They're all either calm songs or songs that are up lifting. I also take a sleep mask with me, as a lot of my triggers are visual. I haven't used it yet, but I am getting used to closing my eyes when I need to. I never had in the past.

I know not all offices can do this, but I have an arrangement with my office that I always see the same people. My hygienist, my doctor and my dental assistant are all constants and that really helps me.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

I'm still new at this conquering my phobia business, but I've had 4 appointments with my new office now and each time I go I feel more and more positive. It may improve in small amounts each time, but at least it's progress.

Good luck with everything. I'll be thinking of you.

JJ
 
Thank you JJ, it's getting closer, I was wreck today, so anxious, unfocused and scared. Can I ask you JJ, how did you feel afterwards? Did you go back and got scared again or can you let go?

Funny you say about the ride with IV sedation, my dentist wouldn't let me have a whiff of the nitrous because I was driving, so I had to make another appointment and my friend is coming with me. I have not had nitrous for so long I don't remember what it's like.

Luckily I am in the UK where we have social health service so i can get all the forms of sedation and all the treatments, x-rays and followups for one flat price at this place. I think it's £55. So in the event that the gas and air doesn't work, I can go back and have IV. I think for some reason they (my dentists) won't give you IV sedation after nitrous.

So wish me luck, bunny has been told we're going on a road trip, the fridge is filled with smoothie, juices, icecream, of course and cottage pie for afters! ;)

I had a sleeping tablet so i will go to sleep. I will update after the ordeal if i can stop rocking in a corner of the room :/
 
Last edited:
Thank you JJ, it's getting closer, I was wreck today, so anxious, unfocused and scared. Can I ask you JJ, how did you feel afterwards? Did you go back and got scared again or can you let go?

Funny you say about the ride with IV sedation, my dentist wouldnt let me have a whiff of the nitrous because I was driving, so I had to make another appointment and my friend is coming with me. I have not had nitrous for so long I dont remember what it's like.

Luckily I am in the UK where we have social health service so i can get all the forms of sedation and all the treatments, x-rays and followups for one flat price at this place. I think it's £55. So in the event that the gas and air doesn't work, I can go back and have IV. I think for some reason they my dentists give you IV sedation after nitrous.

So wish me luck, bunny has been told we're going on a road trip, the fridge is filled with smoothie, juices, icecream, of course and cottage pie for afters! ;)

I had a sleeping tablet so i will go to sleep. I will update after the ordeal if i can stop rocking in a corner of the room :/


I can tell you now that I was terrified. But first of all well done for deciding to do this. You will feel so good afterwards. The thought it a lot worse once you get in there just remember to take deep breaths and treat yourself afterwards.

I had 2 extractions in 1 day. It's a little sore your mouth will be numb for a couple of hours. I went home and slept woke up and I made milkshakes and stuff I did take some pain relief and rinsed my mouth out with salt water.

Honeslty you will be fine you'll be out of 'the chair' before you know it.

Best of luck :)
 
Thank you, I am still too sleepy at the moment to be aware of what's going on today, which is probably a good thing.

The pain is not my biggest concern strangely enough, it's more the whole invasiveness of procedures, the fact that I will know what's gone on in my mouth, that something has been taken out, that a hole will be left, that there has a been a big needle in there, the blood etc. My mind is such a sadistic thing, it just pokes at me and shows me details I don't want to see.

I hope things will go ok. I am starting to wake up a little :( But I am sure you're right, I will just try and not think about it too much. I do have sedatives to take afterwards and I will have a friend with me.
 
Well that was a fun couple of days of anxiety for nothing.

My dentist was running late by over 30 minutes and she also thought that I was just going to a taster. So I wasn't on the nitrous oxide for long enough to say yeah ok do it, all it did was make me stop crying, but that was it. So I am still with my tooth. I have to book a longer appointment. Luckily as I said I have no decay in that tooth, and as long as I keep it clean it's fine and doesn't cause me any problems at the moment and hasn't for several months now. So it isn't an emergency. But what a waste of a day and I am exhausted just being stressed for all this time. :/
 
Thank you JJ, it's getting closer, I was wreck today, so anxious, unfocused and scared. Can I ask you JJ, how did you feel afterwards? Did you go back and got scared again or can you let go?

Funny you say about the ride with IV sedation, my dentist wouldn't let me have a whiff of the nitrous because I was driving, so I had to make another appointment and my friend is coming with me. I have not had nitrous for so long I don't remember what it's like.

Luckily I am in the UK where we have social health service so i can get all the forms of sedation and all the treatments, x-rays and followups for one flat price at this place. I think it's £55. So in the event that the gas and air doesn't work, I can go back and have IV. I think for some reason they (my dentists) won't give you IV sedation after nitrous.

So wish me luck, bunny has been told we're going on a road trip, the fridge is filled with smoothie, juices, ice cream, of course and cottage pie for afters! ;)

I had a sleeping tablet so i will go to sleep. I will update after the ordeal if i can stop rocking in a corner of the room :/

Hi.

I'm sorry I didn't reply sooner. I didn't see this post.

Afterwards I felt better. The nitrous oxide really helped me to feel calm. Now it's been a few days and I have some soreness and pain from my deep cleaning, but I'm told this is normal.

I still get really nervous before an appointment. I hope this will get better with time, but it's still really hard for me.

Extractions can be hard. It's one of the hardest things for me. If you're like me you'll need the IV sedation for this. I can't be awake for extractions. It's just too scary and overwhelming for me.

You can do this though. Ask your dentist for whatever you need. Take your bunny with you. That'll help with the anxiety.

I hope it all goes well. Keep us updated.

JJ
 
It will be a few months now before I go back. I am not sure if longer exposure to gas and air will work or not, this is so weird because I remember being so out of it on gas and air when I had it before at the dentist in America. I am sure this is the same stuff and I was totally sober, awake and not relaxed. She said that if the longer exposure to the nitrous doesn't work better next time, she can always refer me to the other clinic for IV sedation. Bunny says he's happy to come with me ;)
 
Back
Top