[ScaredGal]

Hi all ,, I am sure this topic has been run into the ground but it's new old ground to me , I need to have 4 molars repaired and the thought of the needle has me so so stressed out that it sent me to the ER , so a normal Dentist is not going to happen , no way no how , so I went to see a sedation dentist , that helped to ease the stress by about 5% , just talking to him I was on the verge of passing out , I guess I am like most cowards, last dentist visit was 47 years ago , age 13 , reason for not going back , fear beyond belief , total torture , amazing how all that fear came back when I saw a dentist chair last week for the first time in all those years , I was 13 once again like it was yesterday and I passed out , as it stands now I am at wits end , the dentist said I have 6 months to a year left if I want to save the molars and I so want to save them but at the same time I could just let them go , but I can't do that , HELP !!! , one Scared Gal

[greany79]

Originally Posted by ScaredGal

Hi all ,, I am sure this topic has been run into the ground but it's new old ground to me , I need to have 4 molars repaired and the thought of the needle has me so so stressed out that it sent me to the ER , so a normal Dentist is not going to happen , no way no how , so I went to see a sedation dentist , that helped to ease the stress by about 5% , just talking to him I was on the verge of passing out , I guess I am like most cowards, last dentist visit was 47 years ago , age 13 , reason for not going back , fear beyond belief , total torture , amazing how all that fear came back when I saw a dentist chair last week for the first time in all those years , I was 13 once again like it was yesterday and I passed out , as it stands now I am at wits end , the dentist said I have 6 months to a year left if I want to save the molars and I so want to save them but at the same time I could just let them go , but I can't do that , HELP !!! , one Scared Gal

I think it's normal to be scared of a place where pain can occur. I mean, it's your body, you want to protect it. That's a primal thing. No one actually likes the dentist, and if they do, well..

That written, the best way to be treated if you are anxious, particularly if you are really anxious (and, you know, as you put things off/build them up in your head, you're going to create more anxiety, more than the situation is ever worth) it's best to be sedated. When you're sedated, your brain WILL be relaxed. You will not have fear, your body will respond calmly, which is ideal, and will result in a trauma-free experience. It's science.

I am not crazy about the dentist. The next time that I go for anything like an extraction/root canal, I'll probably be sedated.

You are safe, and it will be okay. The relief that you will feel when you have taken care of your tooth issues should be great.

[ginnie]

I use to freak at the dentist. My youth wasn't so hot either with no anesthetic at all used. I am 61 and just found a dentist that pre-medicates, and uses a sedation. The injections are given while asleep. This woman, did something no other did, eased my fear. You have find someone like this that can address your real fears about this. I do understand that fear quite well scared girl, it took me most of my life to get over it. I hope you find the same kind of compassion in what ever direction you go. bryanna, may be able to suggest some more things to help you too. Please don't get any RC work done. Bryanna again can explain that very well. I do wish you all the best, and peace when you go again to get treatment. ginnie

[Bryanna]

Hi Scared Girl,

I am in the dental profession so may be I can help you.

It's important to know that fear is very real and MOST people have some degree of fear or apprehension about being in the dental chair.... including those of us in the profession! Nobody likes being put in a vulnerable situation never mind one that can be physically painful. So please know that you are not being a coward or that your fears are uncommon..... because you are feeling what most people have felt at one time or another.

Years ago being in the dental chair was a nightmare! I remember as a kid (I am now 55) having a dentist that did not give novovcaine for any fillings ... and he instructed me to just hold on to the chair tightly. Yup... he was nuts! Today, that is basically unheard of in most dental offices. Mainly because people would not stand for it nor do they have to.

There are some suggestions that I can give you to help reduce your anxiety.

The first one is .... you need to remember to breath. Do not hold your breath as that will cause you to feel faint. So breathing is good It is also something you can practice at home for the week prior to each dental appointment and in doing this, you are actually training yourself how to relax under duress. Take 15 minutes a day and find a place to just sit quietly. Tune every thing out and focus on your breathing. Take a deep breath in through your nose and count slowly to 6.... then slowly let the breath out of your mouth to a slow count of 6. Do this 5 times. Rest for a few breaths, repeat. Rest for a few breaths, repeat. If you do this every day, you will find it easier and easier to put yourself at ease and you may also find that you can breath for longer than the count of 6. You can also use headphones and music to help you focus. This is a crucial exercise taught to people who have severe fear and/or anxiety. It can work if you practice it.

Second thing would be to bring headphones and a favorite CD with you to the dentist. This will help tune out the sounds and allow you to focus on the music rather than every other little thing. It also helps make the time go by faster. If you are using the same music along with your breathing exercises your brain will become trained to relax when it hears that music.

Thirdly, your dentist can prescribe an anti anxiety medication like valium or xanax to take orally prior to the dental appointment. But you would have to have someone drive you to the appointment because you may feel a little loopy and your physical reflexes will be dulled a bit. You can also seek a sedation dentist who can put you to sleep or in a twilight state for your dental work. Generally the dentist prefers to do several teeth (if needed) during the sedation to avoid having to use it numerous times.

It is also a good idea to determine what it is that fears you the most about being in the dental chair. Because this is how we face our fears and begin to conquer them. Sometimes we remain a bit afraid but most of the time it's not as bad as it once was. Be specific and honest with yourself and your dentist about what you fear the most so that he can be aware of these things and try to work around them with alternatives. Never be ashamed of being afraid, never be hesitant to say what scares you, and never feel like your fear is unimportant. If your dentist does not want to take the time to listen and work with you.... then you need to find someone else who will. Usually dentists will advertise that they cater to cowards ( stupid wording :/ ) or that they perform sedation dentistry.

Do you think some of these suggestions may be helpful to you? Please keep in touch here and let us know how things are going

Bryanna

Originally Posted by ScaredGal

Hi all ,, I am sure this topic has been run into the ground but it's new old ground to me , I need to have 4 molars repaired and the thought of the needle has me so so stressed out that it sent me to the ER , so a normal Dentist is not going to happen , no way no how , so I went to see a sedation dentist , that helped to ease the stress by about 5% , just talking to him I was on the verge of passing out , I guess I am like most cowards, last dentist visit was 47 years ago , age 13 , reason for not going back , fear beyond belief , total torture , amazing how all that fear came back when I saw a dentist chair last week for the first time in all those years , I was 13 once again like it was yesterday and I passed out , as it stands now I am at wits end , the dentist said I have 6 months to a year left if I want to save the molars and I so want to save them but at the same time I could just let them go , but I can't do that , HELP !!! , one Scared Gal

[ScaredGal]

issues are piling up faster with each passing day , I had two extractions , that went semi ok , except for my extreme fear , ( felt nothing ) anyway I went to see a sedation dentist , office was totally updated and very high tech and clean clean clean , the dentist was sweet beyond my wildest imagination , he 100% quaranteed he can save my molars with onlays , 1000 dollars each plus sedation 500 dollars ,, as he spoke he mentioned things that went over my head because I was shaking so badly a lot of what he said went over my head , then he said you have periontal diease and they would do scaling and root planning , I didn't pay attention to that ,when I left the office I started to feel uneasy because everything was to perfect it was like I was being sold a new car, but I did check him out and his rep is 200% perfect ( my problem with perfect is , show me perfect and I will show you flaws in said perfect ,,anyway when I got home I looked up this peri diease and root planning ,after reading about it I got up for a glass of water and I remember coming to on the floor , this root plaing is not going to happen , not an option , from what I am reading no way , I much rather have gum surgery to remove this so called plaque from my roots , I have appointments with 4 other specialists and dentists for opinions , the sad part of all this or I should say the funny part is when I smile it appears that I have movie star teeth , but it seems it's like smoke and mirrors with major unseen issues , but I am very very proud of myself for 1 thing , I had a very very tiny filling done , it took the dentist about 10 minutes start to finish , I seem to take one step forward and then I get this peri news and it then sets me back 20 steps , but what is surprising me is despite my mega fear I am bound and determined at all cost to wipe away 47 years of what I call a free ride to get my teeth back , but I am also so very very confused , ps forgive my spelling and grammar I am typing this with very shaky hands and a shaky mind

[ginnie]

I have to tell you about root cleaning. Yes they scrape the roots below the gum surface. However, there is something new in their bag. You don't need shots for the pain anymore. They use a pokey tool with a tip that inserts a numbing gel between the teeth. I was scared too, and it didn't hurt one bit and I was fully awake and NOT sedated. I got rid of the pockets between my teeth, and now mostly I am a 3 between the teeth. I had 5 @ 6 pockets, and this scaling got me right on track again. The old way was to numb with needles, section by section. Not fun!!!! If your dentist doesn't do this new proceedure, he is behind the time and you should seek a different professional. I promise you this way doesn't hurt at all. I would do it again anytime! Let me know what you think OK? Ginnie

[Bryanna]

Scared gal,

Glad to hear that you had a positive dental experience! It sounds to me like this dentist was trying to inform you of your dental issues in spite of you being frightened because legally he has to tell you what he has found clinically.

I am not in favor of a dentist telling a patient that he guarantees any procedure to "save a tooth" because he really cannot guarantee such a thing. I think he was trying to reassure you more so than guarantee anything. Although I think that was a poor (misleading) choice of words. But I do feel he was genuine in his approach with you.

It is not surprising that you have periodontal disease since you have not had your teeth cleaned in many, many years. I believe I mentioned this in a previous reply to you. Periodontal disease is not just about removing the calculus or hard tartar from the roots of the teeth. Doing that is just the beginning of a process that requires your utmost compliance with proper oral hygiene at home every day. Removing the gum tissue is not the answer to removing these deposits as it will only accumulate again if your home care is not thorough enough. The sticky plaque that accumulates along the gum line from improper brushing is what turns to hard calculus and tartar. The gum tissue becomes inflamed and irritated and opens up allowing the plaque to slide down in between the tooth and gum adhering to the root surfaces.

Surgery to remove the hard deposits that include removal of gum tissue is extremely unpleasant. Once the gums are cut back, they cannot be replaced. The root surfaces become exposed and temperature sensitivity can be extreme. Root surfaces also easily become decayed. So opting for osseous (gum removal) surgery should not be the first choice to bring your disease under control.

There are other procedures much less invasive. Root planing and gingival curettage can be helpful as well as laser therapy. By any chance does he do the LANAP laser procedure? The results of the laser are remarkable and the post op healing from it is not very uncomfortable.

If this dentist is a sedation dentist then he can accomplish a lot of dentistry in one sitting. Did he speak to you about that?

By any chance have you read any of my other replies to you about trying to reduce your fear?? You say that you want to move forward and get things taken care of... which is great!! But are you interested in being less fearful or do you just want to grin and bear it? It also seems like you pass out a lot ... perhaps you should see your physician about that ??

Bryanna

Originally Posted by ScaredGal

issues are piling up faster with each passing day , I had two extractions , that went semi ok , except for my extreme fear , ( felt nothing ) anyway I went to see a sedation dentist , office was totally updated and very high tech and clean clean clean , the dentist was sweet beyond my wildest imagination , he 100% quaranteed he can save my molars with onlays , 1000 dollars each plus sedation 500 dollars ,, as he spoke he mentioned things that went over my head because I was shaking so badly a lot of what he said went over my head , then he said you have periontal diease and they would do scaling and root planning , I didn't pay attention to that ,when I left the office I started to feel uneasy because everything was to perfect it was like I was being sold a new car, but I did check him out and his rep is 200% perfect ( my problem with perfect is , show me perfect and I will show you flaws in said perfect ,,anyway when I got home I looked up this peri diease and root planning ,after reading about it I got up for a glass of water and I remember coming to on the floor , this root plaing is not going to happen , not an option , from what I am reading no way , I much rather have gum surgery to remove this so called plaque from my roots , I have appointments with 4 other specialists and dentists for opinions , the sad part of all this or I should say the funny part is when I smile it appears that I have movie star teeth , but it seems it's like smoke and mirrors with major unseen issues , but I am very very proud of myself for 1 thing , I had a very very tiny filling done , it took the dentist about 10 minutes start to finish , I seem to take one step forward and then I get this peri news and it then sets me back 20 steps , but what is surprising me is despite my mega fear I am bound and determined at all cost to wipe away 47 years of what I call a free ride to get my teeth back , but I am also so very very confused , ps forgive my spelling and grammar I am typing this with very shaky hands and a shaky mind

[ScaredGal]

I am beside myself with joy ok , ok a short recap , no dentist for 47 years ,,went to a Dentist 2 weeks ago for an emergency , sent me to the Oral Surgeon , tooth pulled , now back to the Dentist for a tiny filling on my front tooth , I semi trust him , 20% , now that's huge for me , next he says I can save that cracked molar. Thought of Novocain send me into a tail spin and to the ER over the stress of it , next I seek out a Sedation Dentist ,, does his sales pitch and says I have peridontal disease , that sends me into a bigger downward spiral. Today I go to the Oral Surgeon to have him look at the extraction to make sure its ok , when I get there I go into a melt down of mega proportions , 47 years of fear finally erupt , I tell him about Sedation Man and that I have peri disease and now I am stuck , boxed in , no where to go , the Oral Surgeon gets the x-Rays and says , look , you don't have any bone loss , the staff all gather around me for around an hour and got me calm ( the bestest bunch of people I ever met) now I have calmed down a lot and drive to the nice Dentist ( the one that does not do sedation ) and I book for a cleaning and I was able to get in today , the Heygenist was sooooo blown away on how good my teeth were, seeing how I have never been to a dentist , she does a full cleaning and checks pocket depth , all 3's and 1 4 , I do not have peri disease , no trace of it , now with that news and my major melt down it wiped all my dental fears away , and on July 2nd I go for a crown , novacain and all , and I am not at all scared ,,,,,, I have a new lease on life and I feel GREAT !!!!!!!! and that's for all the help on this forum !! ,,,,, X-Scared Gal