What caused your fear or phobia?

[Thephilsblogbar]

I seem to remember when I was eight or nine my childhood referred me to hospital to have a few teeth remove not due to decay but to make room for adult teeth, I was kind of lied to what was going to happen, was put to sleep in a chair, when I was ten when I had a few more removed not make room for the rest of my adult teeth, was done over two sessions at the dental hospital but not put to sleep.

I think I good bad teeth now at 34, few fillings lost an adult tooth, one re-root canal, nurmous pit/grooves in my teeth and stain, still got the overcrowding problem.

 

[FeellikeJob]

I'm also absolutely terrified of being degraded or humiliated. My teeth are bad. I mean bad bad. They are bad bad. I know they are bad. I know why they're bad. Please god don't 'yell' at me or embarrass me.

I've basically worked through part one. I don't like it, but I can do it. Part 2 comes into play? I'm sobbing in the chair having a full on panic attack and we're done.

-- And reading this, I think I need to just tell the dentist he can talk to me before, he can talk to me after, but I need to be left alone and basically not spoken to more than absolutely necessary to give instructions or find out if I'm numb or whatever. If there's talking, do it while I'm sitting upright and there's no one looming over me.

I was so surprised at how much things had changed since my last visit years and years ago. There was no lecturing (? dentist).
I’ve always been claustrophic - from lots of MRIs for MS. Conquered that (eventually and lots of Valium later) by telling myself I was in a small tube but it was in a very big room. I don’t like being surrounded by people, and equipment, and knowing I can’t escape. I have to use a rollator to walk, and I came from the ambulance in a wheelchair. I told the dental nurse how I felt. Wonder of wonders, she listened. Big room, natural light, only one other person in the room. Left alone to while the numbing needles did their job.
Find a good dentist, and good luck!

 

[happycheeks93]

I'm not really sure to be honest. Something must have made me anxious in the first place. I just don't like the sounds and the environment, it always make me anxious. It's the not knowing whether I am going to feel pain or not.

 

[bahblah]

I had bad parents who had no business having children. I found out about the dentist as a child because of the offered free dentist check-ups in school. I asked my parents about it -- they essentially told dentists makes holes in your teeth with a drill and it usually hurts a lot and I don't have to go if I don't want to. Not sure if they also had a phobia or worried it would cost a lot. Who knows. My parents also never taught me to brush my teeth - I only started to because my friends in school mentioned it -- and its taken me ages to get it to be a habit. I have a fear of all doctors though.

 

[Airi]

i don't specifically has any fear to dentist physically, but it from other people story that makes me scare of the procedure.. like when they got fillings they say that they cannot eat anything hard for a week, when the pull out a teeth blood will not stop for a whole day and so much more.. but after going to dentist the fear is gone, now i'm looking forward for my next dentist appointment.. so i can ask them a lot of question..

 

[marynyc]

I’ve been thinking of this a lot lately. My mother probably also shouldn’t have had kids, but she was fastidious about our dental hygiene. We went for cleanings every 6 mos like clockwork. But she’d also use scare tactics and use the dentist as a punishment. It’s hard to fully describe though. Threats of being left alone and pain and needles.

When I was a child and teenager, I had cavities filled without LA because I was terrified of needles and they look particularly large and intimidating at the dentist! They weren’t painful, the dentist always said if it hurt he would stop. Some got uncomfortable but I don’t remember them as painful.

I also brushed my teeth and took care of them, and still had cavities. Dentist said I would always be prone no matter what, which was deflating to hear as a teenager. He also suggested wisdom tooth removal even though they were straight on X-rays. I refused, still have all 4 and there was plenty of space and luckily they came in straight.

Then anxiety was compounded by a terrible dentist five years ago. I finally found a female dentist I trust and even like. So I’m hoping to get to the point where I enjoy the good news from each cleaning going forward and in the meantime, she will calmly and slowly and honestly help me through the rest of the work.

But I won’t be talking to my mother about any of it, she just makes my anxiety worse.

 

[Tinydancer]

Mines stemmed from being younger. I always dreaded the big dentist van being In the playground when I walked through the school gates. I would close my eyes and pray when I walked around the corner it wasn't there. I remember the head teacher call my name in class and walk me to the van. I went in and all I remember was getting a filling and it hurting like hell and crying. I begged my mum not to make me go back and she didn't sign the consent forms. Since then I have been terrified. Until I recently developed an abscess and I have had to go to the dentist. Still have to have a filing and two teeth extracted and still have that fear!

 

[sillybunny84]

This has been a really interesting thread. Though it demonstrates just how few people should be dentists

I have no idea why or when my fear started. I remember falling asleep in the dentist's chair when I was 12, I was so relaxed with the entire experience. Perhaps it was a fear of needles, rather than the dentist themselves. Which lead to an avoidance of dentists for 10 years. My mum eventually took me to a fella who specialised in phobias and he was lovely ... has since left to work more with plastic surgery

Or perhaps it's the lack of control. Being unconscious freaks me out because I have no idea what anybody is doing to me at any given moment. But then I dislike being awake because I don't want to know what they're doing. Special

 

[heleng57]

I would say the dentist hitting nerves when he drilled. It happened several times when I was younger thinking I wouldn’t need to be numbed up. Now I just associate a dentist with pain.

 

[Thephilsblogbar]

Being judge still even though I been going regulatluy, I still have fear and going for another chekcup later this month, got to set my niece on the right path still, that her uncle goes to chekcups.

 

[geos]

I used to be scared when I was going to the pediatric dentist, but could tolerate treatment. The thing is that the dentist and my mother never told me that to help me they would always do a small amount of work at each appointments (for example, do only 2 fillings at a time) and book more time then needed (for example, booking 1 hour for treatment that would be done in 15 minutes). I would sometime get a panic attack, but usually would calm down enough for them to finish treatment. My other issue would also be gag reflex, but we would usually be able to work around it.

When I moved out to a different city, I had to see a different dentist. When I needed treatment, he decided to book me for 4 fillings in a 1 hour (I didn't ask for something shorter since the Christmas holidays were a week away and wanted everything before going on vacation, plus I didn't know I would usually get shorter appointments from my old dentist to help me cope) and they offered laughing gaz, which I tough would help me. I had a panic attack and couldn't calm down. Thankfully, being close to work, someone from work was eventually able to come in to talk to me and I was able to calm down to get the work finished. The dentist himself wasn't so nice about it making me feel bad about the whole experience, but thankfully his staff was nicer. I felt ashamed of myself from getting a panic attack while in the chair. For the laughing gaz, I don't think I felt much of an effect on me. I'm not sure what triggers my panic attacks.

I decided to go see a dentist who could do IV sedation. So now, most of my treatments are done with sedation. I would like to eventually go see a dentist who could help me go back to get treatment with simply some local anesthesia, but would like to reach a state were I feel comfortable with my teeth first. My issue right now is feeling pain in some places in my mouth, but when I go to the dentist, he says it all seems good, without offering much more. Thankfully the pain and stress eventually comes down once I know it doesn't seem to be dental, but I always wonder what it is and if I will end up in more pain.

 

[deano85]

2 things really.
1. My mum was always affraid, but she was good at hiding it to an extent

2. A bad experiance. I always went for reg checkups as a kid, always. Really liked my dentist, but them they closed the clinic when i was about 10.
When i found a new dentist, i went, fine, he said i needed a filling... ok, had them before...
Went back to have it done and he pulled out a huge metal needle which looked old to an 11 year old.
(The reason for the shock was it was the first time in an adult tooth so never had a jab before)
I would have prob been fine once id got over the initial shock but he kept going on and presuring me
“You need it done or it will cause you a lot of pain soon”
“You need to hurry”
“I can do it without, but it will hurt”
Repeatedly...
In the end i got up and walked out...
It was 17+ years before i even coincided seeing another dentist.

I dont know if he was having a bad day, running late, or just an ass... but he left a lasting impression...

 

[letsconnect]

What caused your fear or phobia? This thread was first started in 2005, and for a short time contained a poll which was lost when we changed our forum software. Now that we've changed forum software yet again, I've taken the liberty to create a poll and merge the old and the new threads.

So now you can vote in our brand-new poll (multiple choices allowed)! You can also leave replies in this thread.

 

[Cat Mom]

My dental 'anxiety' came from visiting the childhood dentist. We went to church with him and his family, and his son used to bully me. He himself was a really nice guy...but that's where my anxiety started....

 

[thisisme]

I don’t remember much as a kid, but it did seem like we always had a new place for insurance reason. I always made my sister go first. It has always been drilled into my brain that cavities are the worst thing in the world (by who? I don’t know), so I guess I always had that fear that I’d have one.

We settled on the same dentist around 10-11. This guy was the worst. Once or twice his son did it instead, and I always told my mom I wish he was the dentist. Just cold, incompetent, and just kinda scary for a kid. I always had this anxiety the night before an appt. like I was planning my funeral. At 14, my dentist found 3 cavities. I was devastated. Six months ago I was fine. My mom followed through to get them filled. He didn’t use Novocaine. I’ve blocked it from my memory. I only remember coming home. A few weeks later every tooth he filled was sensitive to hot and cold.

I was never going back.

Until now I guess.

In the years where I didn’t go, a family member had an emergency procedure and has never been the same. Watching them suffer was an excuse I needed that dentists make things worse.

I also started to develop a condition in my teenage years that caused a lot of anxiety as a symptom. I’ve started to treat that and have begun to face many of my fears... like driving on the expressway... going to the doctor... and making dental appts! So I’m sure it’s a combination of things, but I don’t think my childhood helped at all.

 

[krlovesherkids777]

"We settled on the same dentist around 10-11. This guy was the worst. Once or twice his son did it instead, and I always told my mom I wish he was the dentist. Just cold, incompetent, and just kinda scary for a kid. I always had this anxiety the night before an appt. like I was planning my funeral. At 14, my dentist found 3 cavities. I was devastated. Six months ago I was fine. My mom followed through to get them filled. He didn’t use Novocaine. I’ve blocked it from my memory. I only remember coming home. A few weeks later every tooth he filled was sensitive to hot and cold.

I was never going back. "

This sounds exactly like my childhood dentist, and I went to him until I was 15/16 finally ended up biting him as he tried the novacaine for the first time without telling me or explaining he would be. My parents were told never to bring me back there. This was my relief! This story of cold mean dentists during childhood not using local Im reading so often.. it seems a bit crazy it was like this. Thank God for kind dentists now adays and knowing we have choices and boundaries.. its hard as a kid and not to have choices. and think this is just how it is. sorry you had to go through this too.

 

[thisisme]

This sounds exactly like my childhood dentist, and I went to him until I was 15/16 finally ended up biting him as he tried the novacaine for the first time without telling me or explaining he would be. My parents were told never to bring me back there. This was my relief! This story of cold mean dentists during childhood not using local Im reading so often.. it seems a bit crazy it was like this. Thank God for kind dentists now adays and knowing we have choices and boundaries.. its hard as a kid and not to have choices. and think this is just how it is. sorry you had to go through this too

Aww, I’m sorry you had to go through that too. Kudos for biting him! ? I’ve recently been bravely watching YouTube videos of kids at the dentist, and it’s insane how different it is. How they walk them through everything and how kind and gentle they are. Also, how their parents got to go in with them. It felt like my dentist frowned with parents around, but the younger one allowed it. My niece asked me if I was afraid of the dentist and so, I lied and said “when I was a kid, but then, I got brave.” She said, “there’s no reason to be afraid of the dentist.”

It’s like yeah, because you sit on a Dino and get to pick out a toy when you’re done and get someone who doesn’t completely make you feel like a sack of potatoes with a mouth?! I wouldn’t be afraid either if that was my childhood!

Times are so different now. I hate that I grew up in a time where this was happening but I am happy I am still living in a time where it’s getting better and where I’ll hopefully be able to put my phobia to rest forever.

 

[lanabanana]

my fear kinda stemmed from dental based trauma when i was a kid.

I was about, maybe 3 or 4? and i had bottle rot really really bad. so, parents took me to the dentist and they had to extract ALL of my front baby teeth. i was really young so i didn't really understand what was going on so i was scared as all hell, not to mention i am autistic so the whole sensory thing also plays a part as well. eventually they had to strap me to a board and forcefully pull out my teeth because i was thrashing around and crying so bad, my dentist couldn't properly work on me. i still vaguely remember it, and it brings me to nervous tears every single time.


my dentist (who is still my dentist, we haven't changed in 20 years bc my parents like him, he's not a bad dentist at all) is STILL really sorry about what happened, almost 10-20 years ago, and im pretty sure he knows that contributed to my dental anxiety, or even flat out caused it. ever since then he's known to be gentle and kind with me, and i even sat in the chair for the FIRST time ever about a year ago for a filling (i was medicated and also on laughing gas, lol). he was immensely proud of me, probably one of the very few positive dental procedures i can remember in recent memory (ive had a lot of work done on my teeth, including an extraction that had to be done at a hospital bc i refused to sit in the chair) and it made me feel really good. but a few positive experiences of course doesn't take away my trauma completely. i need to see a therapist soon for mental health treatment, so i can bring up what happened to me and maybe they can work with me on helping my anxiety.

 

[lena25]

My trauma began, I must have been almost 10. It was a routine check up done by our school. The dentist pulled my emerging tooth out of the blue without any anesthetic, cut it and just pull it out, sewed it and sent me back to class along with the rest of the pupils from my class

 

[Jay LB]

My trauma began when I was 8 years old, receiving my very first dental extraction. Cause that time my tooth pain hinders and distracts my school performances so my parents took me into the dentist. They held me down and I was crying hard begging to get home. I felt everything, the blades, the needle, and the motion of my tooth being pulled. I even had the taste of the drug they put in my tooth before putting the needle.

After those, for years I never got myseld into the dental office again. I don't like to have any peinful experience again. I dont want to be helpless. I've been into surgeries that made me helpless and crying in agony, even my circumcision, that the doctors laughed at me while I'm crying in agony.