Young one here; Success after 7 years! (:

[Eshy]

Hi guys! I'm new here. I'm a young one too, heh. I'm 17 and in the past weeks I have pretty much killed off my dental fear! I had very bad experiences when I was younger with dentists. I don't even remember so much, I just know it was awful.

I didn't see a dentist in 7 years until last December! I cried when I went in for my cleaning and came out with 13 cavities despite the fact that there was no tartar buildup to scratch off. (Which was probably due to the fact that I always scrubbed my teeth extra well days before a dental visit was planned.) But anyway, the lady that cleaned my teeth was really bubbly and talkative. She was so nice and talked to me a bunch, not seeming to mind much when I interrupted her cleaning by responding, haha. She took my x-rays and found those 13 cavities. It was bad, but it could have been a LOT worse.

They scheduled me for some fillings in the following weeks after. I managed to trick myself that I wasn't scared until they led me to the very back room on the left. The lady that called my name from the lobby led me there, noticing my reluctant face. When I reached the back room, she put some cherry flavored numbing stuff on my gums. Right after she left, my fears consumed me and I started bawling as silently as I could. The tears flowed out in streams. When my dentist came in he was behind me getting the numbing injection ready. As he came around to my side he noticed my face and gave me this really soft look with a slight smile. He told me he would be as gentle as possible to make it easy, which I wasn't sure if I believed at first.

Bracing myself for the worst, I stared at the ceiling as he gave me my first shot and the tears kept rolling out. Right after, he smiled at me and wiped a tear from my cheek with his thumb, then grabbing a handful of tissues and putting them in my hand. I felt bad, kind of embarassed that I let myself cry like that but it was just the beginning. When he came back in to drill my tooth, I freaked out and told him it hurt before he even touched my tooth. He knew I was just scared, but gave me another numbing injection anyway which I couldn't even feel the needle of by then. After drilling at my teeth he smiles again and shakes my hand. My next visit was even easier, and he praised me for doing so well telling me he was proud of me.

I swear though, nicest dentist ever. Makes me feel very comfortable. He's got a lot of charisma. He's a very charming man. He completely caters to my needs. Makes a lot of lighthearted or silly jokes. He smiles a lot too, and he's got a very likable one. Overall, nothing about him to be afraid of! He's completely fixed my fear of going to the dentist. I mean, I'm usually still pretty tense when I go in there... but I feel SO much better and my teeth feel a lot better too!


I am still having some problems with some fillings I had a few weeks ago, but he already redid one and I'm going to call the dental office again this week to fix another problem. I might need a root canal, which I'm apprehensive about... but I think it will be okay since he's really a good dentist.



Anyway, I've got a question. Do you think it would be weird for me to send him a little letter and thank him? I never seem to get to thank him after he fixes my problems cause he's got other patients to see and is out rather quickly. I want to really thank him because if he had been another insensitive dentist, I might have never seen another one again, letting my teeth decay away to nothing. I just want to tell him I appreciate that he's helped me with my fear.

What do you think?

 

[Dr. Daniel]

Hey
Definitely send him a letter.
A thank-you letter is a great source of support and encouragement for the dentist.
It is not easy to provide such a loving and caring treatment, and such a letter will help him to continue to do so also with other patients.

 

[carole]

I sent mine a Thank You note and he said it was lovely as it doesn't happen often and it had made his day.

I couldn't seem to say how grateful I was for the kindness and gentleness he had shown me so I put it all in a note.

Send a Thank you he will love it.

 

[Eshy]

I think I will! Thanks for your thoughts, it really feels good to be able to share my success with others who understand how scary things can be for us! Where would I address the letter to? The dental office?

 

[carole]

You can address it to the dental office but put his name then it will go directly to him and not get mixed in with the surgery post. Thats what I did.

I did used to say thank you but I never seemed to be able to put into words on the day how grateful I was and just how much he had helped me.

 

[Eshy]

Yeah, even I think I won't be able to explain to him my thanks.

I wish a flag would have went up in my mother's mind when she took me to the dentist when I was younger. I mean, there was a "No parents allowed" policy in place. I would cry and cry and refuse to open my mouth, but they'd just plug my nose until it open. I even remember being held down. He yelled at me too, telling me to stop crying and being a baby. Jerk.

But now, my dentist is awesome. The first cavity session when I cried he joked at me and said
"Did your old dentist beat you up or something? 'Cause I'll go beat him up if he did."


Thats when I knew he'd be a good guy.


Should I tell him about my past experiences in it? Maybe I'm over thinking haha. I tend to get really wordy when I'm sending someone a letter... but I think what matters is I just let him know what he has done for me and how much more happy and safe I feel!

I still have an appointment coming up though in the end of this week I think. I'll see if I can talk to him and let him know my thanks.



I <3 this place. So many stories shared and support given.

 

[carole]

I would tell him in your note about your past experiences as well as how good he has made you feel. That way he can read the letter at his leisure and it will help him to help you in the future. A lot of dentists work in the dark with us as we don't usually manage to be able to tell them everything, my dentist is getting bits in instalments as it would take me a week to tell him if I started. Also when you start bits you haven't thought about for years come back so we just ramble on. This place is very good for us fellow verbal ramblers.

Put as much as you wish in your letter it will help him help you, but it will maybe help him to understand others as well.

 

[Eshy]

Yeah! I totally know what you mean about the verbal rambling bit. When I posted this I couldn't remember a lot at all. Then I asked my mom some questions and I started to remember.

I looked up my old dentist who still has his office in the same spot; a 20 minute walk or so away... And he has so many good ratings. Maybe he's changed? Do dentists change? I don't forgive him either way but I don't see how such a horrible dentist can have good ratings. I almost feel like sending him a rant but I won't. )x but then again I guess children don't have a voice on Internet reviews as much as adults . I guess we wouldn't really know.

Maybe I should give the old one feedback on how not to create dental phobes.

Hmm. Not in a mean way Of course. I'm not a mean person.

 

[Mikey Boy]

Hi and Welcome to the forum

Congrats on ur progress And yea I think you should send him one it would be a great way to show ur thanks