Fear of the Dentist

Lafortezza

I've just been to the dentist this morning, I hadn't been in about 4 years and decided it was time to see if my teeth were still ok.

When I walked into the surgery and sat in the chair I had a panic attack, I began sweating and really really wanted to get up and leave, I actually thought "Fnck it, just get out"...

Once the dentist began looking he said that I'd need 2 fillings but that to get them done in a couple of weeks would be fine, I felt incredible relief at this.
He then offered to clean up my teeth a bit , he said there was a bit of plaque buildup in some of the nooks and crannies in my gob.
Immediately I was filled with the same irrational fear again, and he started poking and scraping and flossing with gusto, all the while my insides were in turmoil (I actually almost let a loud one go with the nerves and tension!)

By the end of it it was fine, teeth are now nice and clean, he says my gob is healthy and apart from those 2 fillings I shouldn't have any trouble.

I think alot of my nervousness stems from when I was in secondary school, I got one my front two teeth knocked out playing basketball, leaving only a half-tooth stump.
Went to dentist, and he said that the only solution was to fit a crown thingy over the stump.

3 hours of agony and 6 injections (3 into my gums at front and 3 into my palate/gums behind my front teeth) later and it was done and I was pretty much a quivering wreck.

I'm just wondering if anyone else has a similar fear of the dentist and his tools (and especially injections)?

And above all does anyone know any way of overcoming this fear, or have any methods of relaxation that could reduce the nerves and panic?

Beruthiel

hello brother lafortezza!!

after a similar experience myself when I was 18, where he had to take a tooth out, which fell apart when he griped it to pull, and then had to drill the root out only to discover an abuses(sp) under the root, I cannot explain the agony and it went on for 1.5 hours
I was told I have to get a root canal and a crown on the same tooth, that was 3 yrs ago and I have been putting it off since then, got a major toothache last month which drove me wild so now I am going at the end of next month to have it done! I know I'll be as nervous as hell and will have pain in my arms and back from gripping the sides of the chair. How to get past this? donno - I just keep telling myself it's not as bad as 24 hours of labour pains - it sorta works for me

seamus

Funnily enough, I have no fear of the dentist, but I'm incredibly squeamish about my teeth. I endured 5 years of train track braces, and as anyone who's had them will tell you, there is no tooth pain you can't endure afterwards. I've had 4 milk teeth removed (cos they refused to just drop out), but never had any fillings, so I don't know what the drilling is like. Maybe that's what people hate so much.

In my experience, dentistry has come quite a long way from the days of tying you to a chair and just heaving on your tooth Ber! Nothing should really hurt while you're in the chair, but maybe it's just the noises and the uncomfortableness that gets to people. I cannae understan' it.

LegacyUser

labour pains schmabour pains, I'm talking real man-pain here

I don't really have a huge problem with the pain side of it, not that I get a kick out of it or anything, but its more the feelings of panic, and fear that there *could* be unbearable pain in the near future even though the nice man says "this won't be as bad as before, nearly finished anyway", while he wields that syringe and pins my mouth open with his cold rubber clad hand...

I'm probably just a big chicken

ykt0di9url7bc3

i had teeth like a mule, and the lovely dentists of Ardkeen hospital set them straight..(as straight as they could have gone)...

...yes the injections are horribly uncomfortable...but its well worth it!...i have to say now that all the dentists that i ever expierenced all were extremely professional, friendly & careful with meh chompers...

2 fillings
4 teeth removed
and many years of train tracks!

DiscoStu

back in april i cracked one of my back molars in half on a tasty abrakebabra kebab. its not to bad though coz it dosent hurt. i wont go to the dentist. i hate them. i will only get a tooth pulled if they do a general anesthetic but i dont think they do that anymore.

thedrowner

i am terrified of the dentist
reason being last summer, i went and was told i needed 7 fillings!!!!! and i spent all summer, every mondy moninrg at 8.30 getting them down, and then one of them didnt work and it was so sore and i cried and i was in work and no one cared about my tooth

in truth, i didnt actually need 7 fillings, i already had 5, i needed 2 new ones, i just had to get the other 5 taken out and out back in coz me old dentist did a shoddy job.
then one of the new fillings had to come out as it was too deep and i needed a root canal

so now i have 6 fillings and a crown
and when i got the crown fitted a month ago, a year after the root canal i cried in the dentists chair coz i was so terrfied, coz id basically just been put off dentists

but i got my own back coz i vomitted all over the dentist when she put the cast on for my crown (ha ha ha)(yuck)

and of course when the crown was ready, it didnt fit (which is a shock, because that only happens to about 2 patients a year!!!) and so i had to have a temproary one, which broke

so i hate dentists, and i dont think anythings ever going to cahnge that

Tazz T

I hadn't been for 10 years after a few bad experiences but a crown on one of my front teeth from nearly 20 years ago needed replacing, so I went. Luckily I didn't need any fillings but I didn't feel the injection at all and the dentist was very good. Dentistry has come along a lot in the last decade methinks. Going back to get my permanent crown tomorrow and I'm not bothered about it anymore.

The real pain comes from the cost - €800 one crown cost me - that'll take your mind of things when you're in the chair.

bombidol

i am incredibly terrified of injection, id need to be knocked out to get one:( but earlier this year i was the proud holder of a medical card so i decided to drop into the dentists while i still had it, he said i needed 4 fillings, DOH! i was so nervous on my way there i was hoping i would be hit by a car or something so i wouldnt have to go. i nearly puked with fear in the waiting room and almost passed out on the chair, he opened my gob for the injection and i swear to god i nearly had a ****in embolism but then he said "there we go" i swear to god, no pain just felt a little pressure. the drilling was manky, not sore just stinks and the vibrations suck. but it got me over my dentist fear a bit, i still would go in for a blood test though

OLDYELLAR

I have a terrible fear of the dentist..................when i was younger i had to get a tooth out and the dentist did`nt give me enough anastetic and i can tell you now , it hurt like hell!!!!!!
i just could`nt eat for ages and it was unbelievably sore.
I would never go back to the dentist ever again , I`d rather if me teeth just rotted and fell out than going back again.:(

WhiteWashMan

have had orthadontisrty done, had 4 teeth pulled, have had years of braces all painful and agonising.
but i dont have any problem with the dentist.
come to think of it, its like a trip[ to the doctor, except he looks in your mouth instead of, er, down yer throat and say ahhh.


hmmm, actually, there no difference is there

Dr. Loon

Originally posted by DiscoStu
back in april i cracked one of my back molars in half on a tasty abrakebabra kebab. its not to bad though coz it dosent hurt. i wont go to the dentist. i hate them. i will only get a tooth pulled if they do a general anesthetic but i dont think they do that anymore.

If a tooth, especially a molar cracks on a fúckin kebab, you're in serious trouble. You're teeth are probably like balsa wood, and if you don't go, you'll have fúcked teeth soon.

Victor

Originally posted by laf0rt3zza
I don't really have a huge problem with the pain side of it, not that I get a kick out of it or anything, but its more the feelings of panic, and fear that there *could* be unbearable pain in the near future even though the nice man says "this won't be as bad as before, nearly finished anyway", while he wields that syringe and pins my mouth open with his cold rubber clad hand...

Try talking to a councellor (or a psycothereapist) about this. Talking through it may help you control it.

I'm generally OK with local anaesthetics, blood samples and ordinary injections, but I freaked out recently with the doctor wanted to give me a sedative (less than full anaesthetics), I was really nervous and just flipped when he pulled out this big 20cc syringe.

Generally I feel better if (a) I don't look (b) if the person doing the injection has a good technique (the ones in the blood lab have excellent technique due to their level of practice, whereas the nurse in my local GPs made me feel and look like a junkie with bad aim :eek:), I find the best technique is to numb the tissue by applying pressure with a finger and then inserting the needle.

One wonders about how junkies feeel about going to the dentist :rolleyes:

thedrowner

yeah the thing about my fear of the dentist its its completely stupid. Coz i have just developed this mental block on the dentist, even though i KNOW its not going to hurt when i get in there. It's just the possibilities of the aneasthetic wearing off that frightens me, and sure if that happens, all u have to do is say numb me up some more please

unless there fitting a crown, which doesnt require any.

i also hate the way when u do get numbed, for me, my face goes deformed, and i can only use one side of it to make facial expression, and the other one does a half arsed job, and then poeple get frightened of me, (or else my mother laughs at me and makes me feel even worse)(yes im in my twenties and i make my mother come with me to the dentist. im such a wuss. and i make her wait for me too). and then it also makes u feel like ur dribbling but your not, and the amount of times i've wiped my mouth only to find nothing there...

BeatTun

when i was about 11 or 12 i was getting a filling done and the anaesthetic wore off halfway thru and i could feel the drill hammering away at my tooth, P - A - I - N - i even screamed but d dentist didnt stop


needless to say i havent been near one since

Kali

My local dentist is great.. real chatty and puts you at ease pretty quickly.. although I've never had any fillings or anything from him

Although I had several when I was younger at a different dentist.. they're long gone at this stage.. do remember a rather evil bastard in leixlip though who had to yoink one of my teeth out in a bit of an unprofessional manner (reach in with pliers job)... I'll get him yet *shakes fist*

A good looking nurse is a bonus as well... she tends to take your mind off things

bombidol

if anyone wants i can recomend a fantastic dentist in the phibsboro area, hes the cheif dental professor in the dental academy so he teaches all the other dentists, he was recommended to me by a mate who actually is a dentist.
And his Aid/Assisant Olivia is a DAMN FOX (leggy young blonde) so that helps keep your mind off things:D

roxy

I have no problems with dentists because I don't go near them. I should. I've been about three times in my life and the last time was 6 or 7 years ago. He had to take out a baby tooth that wasn't shifting and beforehand took x-rays of my gums which was painful because he shoved these things into my mouth and they were far too big (oh gosh that sounds odd) and then he discovered that beneath the baby tooth was nothing! no adult tooth! So the bastid goes and taked it out leaving me with a gap near the back and I remember him saying now come back in a week or so and we'll see about pushing your other teth up to fill in the gap. think I went back? wasn't arsed. my gap and I are still doing fine. I don't have any fillings ( because I don't go to get them). But I've never had toothaches.

I know I really should go to the dentist shouldn't I

I ring right away.....

Mossy Monk

i have a visit to the dentist very soon as it happens. i've had enough needles in my lifetime so it doesn't bother me in the slightest. scraping is a bastard though

and yes a sexy nurse helps along with a gorgeous receptionist there to greet you

Enygma

I find the younger dentists are way better. Maybe they've got new techniques or something. I dunno. I used to be scared sh*tless of going to the dentist. Now I've no problem getting a few fillings every now and then.

It never really hurts that much, and I've had a root canal done. Wasn't that bad. I've had worse

Was talking to my dad about the dentist there recently, he's never been! Ever! Isn't that amazing? And his teeth are fine. I dunno how he does it.

thedrowner

my friend claims he has a 5th and 6th wisdom tooth growing behind his top two wisdom teeth
i told him he had mis counted his teeth
he told me his nurse-in-training girlfriend felt it and agreed with him
i told him it looked like an abscess
has anyone ever heard of getting extra wisdom teeth?

DapperGent

No but I have heard of wisdom teeth going a bit mental and growing out of control. Like into your brain or neck or something.

Funnily enough I'd say the best thing for him to do would be to see a dentist.

ando

Originally posted by BeatTun
when i was about 11 or 12 i was getting a filling done and the anaesthetic wore off halfway thru and i could feel the drill hammering away at my tooth, P - A - I - N - i even screamed but d dentist didnt stop

I think thats everyone's worst nightmare :eek:

Funny enough, in the last 6 weeks I've had 3 teeth taken out and them lovely invisable train tracks (3&half K !!!) put on.... the worst part was/is eating, thats the only pain I've felt.. no fear of the dentist.. so far

However, getting my eye's tested is my worst fear.. Everytime I go, I'm terrified... and everytime I go I just about faint in the chair... all goes grey and then the next thing I know my head is between my knees trying to get blood back to me head :rolleyes: and ppl are giving me water ??? dont ask me where I got the fear from, cause I dunno???

ando

Originally posted by thedrowner
has anyone ever heard of getting extra wisdom teeth?

I have no wisdom teeth.. , might explain a few things in my life

thedrowner

in one of the ****ty magazines i read, there was this story about a girl getting mass in her stomach made up of various body oarts, such as nails and teeth, the fibres kind of grew in the wrong place, ick.

every time i see this guy i keep asking him has he booked his appointment with the dentist and he keeps saying no, so he;s obviously not concerned about it!!!

Terminator

I also have an irrational fear of dentists. I had a tooth that was giving me biting pain and I kept putting my appointment off for over 12 months until finally I was reduced to eating food on one side of my mouth - so it was getting crazy.

Anyway on my last visit I just told the dentist what I was afraid of, e.g., drugs wearing off, the scraper tool hitting a nerve etc and he was perfectly fine. Its always a good idea to make them aware of teeth that you know are sensitive to touch so that they avoid them before the needle.

I was terrified that the moment he started drilling it would be agony but I didn't feel a thing aside from the vibration which was kind of reassuring cos that way I knew that the painkillers where doing the job. Because I had left it so long there was a lot of hidden decay to tunnel out but in the end it he just needed to give it a filling and it all took about 40 minutes. I was expecting the worse and had even budgeted for a molar crown (I didn't tell the dentist this though!)

Anyway thats my experience - next appointment is next month and I've no worries about it whatsoever.

pauldeehan

I was okay until I watched Marathon Man.

"Is it safe?"

Now the drill scares the crap outta me.