47 years of not going to the dentist , reason , like so many , very very bad childhood experience , now I have issues and for 47 years I have never given the dentist a second thought , till now , from fear alone I have landed in the ER , and the fear was the thought of a Novocain needle , I have lost 25 pound in under 3 weeks due to stress and fear , now I ask , at 60 years old , how far do I take this dental work to restore my teeth , or do I end it all with dentures , I try to be realistic , I have what 20 years at best , 80 years old , at 80 do I care if I have dentures , or do I spend the next 20 years pouring mega money to keep my teeth , and deal with the stress of doing so , I had to see the oral surgeon for 2 extractions and he said to his staff , I have never ever seen a patient as scared as she is ,, when I went to a regular dentist 3 weeks ago I had to be dragged in , and when I saw the dental chair , I passed out and went down like a ton of bricks , and whats funny , nothing scares me at all , and I mean nothing and no one , except the good old dentist , I am so so so confussed, oh and for 3 weeks I have been shaking like a leaf , and I am not a nervous person by any stretch of the imagination , but I guess I am , sorry for rambling on , but I am barley hanging on here , one Scared Gal is an understatment