why am i avoiding the dentist

[kaitlin4599]

i cant seem to figure this out why am i avoiding the dentist i know i have a fear of the dentist and i do have a diagnosed anxiety disorder. but why is it when i have tooth pain i always take some tylenoll or advil or the like and just wait for the pain to go away i mean the pain i feel is bearable but why do i avoid the dentist i mean i know hes gona tell me i need my teeth or tooth pulled but why why am i avoidng it and what can i do tyo stop this before it gets any worse?

 

[es]

You need to call up the dentist and let them know you are scared and have an anxiety disorder, communication is key.
You don't know your teeth will need to be taken out. I would suggest going to the dentist just for a checkup but you don't have to decide on any treatment now.

 

[kaitlin4599]

i already know this tooth needs to be pulled out as when i went to have one of my wisdom teeth extracted the dentist told me there were some other teeth that had to come out as well and i told him id wait as i was in to much pain to handle a second tooth pull. also i told him i was anxious i even requested nitrous laughing gas and he said we dont need that it will be fine idk i have always had a fear of the dentist from day one

i should tell you that my pain tolerance is at about a 2 on a scale of one to ten as even a slight paper cut or knee scrape drives me to tears

 

[gamergirl123]

also i told him i was anxious i even requested nitrous laughing gas and he said we dont need that it will be fine idk i have always had a fear of the dentist from day one

sounds like you might need to find a new dentist, one who's caring and a little more understanding. Maybe that's part of the issue you might be having. kind of Sounds like he's one that doesn't really care about an individuals desire.

 

[Thaddeus50]

I sympathize. I have an anxiety disorder too and it became real OCD this year when I discovered I needed a couple of teeth extracted and some other work. I worked with a therapist to get some control over my OCD intrusive thoughts. Meditation and self-hypnosis really helped.

I saw two dentists and didn't feel comfortable with either because they didn't use nitrous oxide. I had never had nitrous but I had been reading about it and decided it was the way to go.

I found a dentist, very experienced, who uses it. He had me come in for an appointment just to try the nitrous with no procedures to be done. Oh my God. It was amazing. Nitrous helps with anxiety (what anxiety?) and apparently pain as well but I never minded the lidocaine shots that much. At my next appointment to have a crown done, after nitrous for two minutes I told him--I'm ready for the lidocaine and it REALLY didn't bother me. After that I was listening to music on my headphones and just really enjoying the nitrous as he drilled and ground down a tooth for a crown. I felt no pain - and there should be no pain with modern dentistry - but I also felt NO anxiety. I was in one of the most pleasant states I have ever experienced.

Nitrous is the answer.