Hi AppleTree,

Thank you for clarifying your concerns about being in the dental chair. Dental phobia is most often referred to when people have a fear of dentistry and of receiving dentistry. So if I understand you correctly, your fear is not about that, it is a general fear of gagging irrelevant of where you are or what you are doing.

Regarding your dental health, the dental symptoms you are having are commonly seen with root canaled teeth and indicative of a bacterial infection. If that is the case, then as long as that tooth is present the infection will continue to thrive and spread. If this concerns you and you already have a dentist you are comfortable with, then perhaps it would behoove you to make an appointment. Here is an article written by a dentist who shares his means of dealing with patients who have a strong gag reflex.

http://www.dentaleconomics.com/artic...t-gagging.html

Regarding the vertigo, I have endured episodes of vertigo and can appreciate how debilitating that can be. What I found out after working with an Integrative practitioner is that I was depriving myself of salt unwisely thinking it was healthier to limit my intake. When I educated myself on the importance of consuming salt and the differences between table salt and unrefined salt, I realized the health benefits that I was missing by not using the healthier salt. I increased my salt intake using pure pink Himalayan salt and my vertigo subsided.

When someone is low in serum sodium, they will end up with an electrolyte imbalance. This can cause a variety of symptoms depending on the severity of it ...but 2 of those symptoms are vertigo/dizziness and involuntary gag reflex or vomiting. A true sodium deficiency is called Hyponatremia.

I'm just offering you information that I hope is helpful to you.