Phobia of Dentist..... help !!!!

[MustangLady]

I am scared stiff of dentists, really petrified. I haven't been to one since i had a bad experience as a teenager. I'm not even registered with a dentist and don't know how to go about doing it.... but last week part of a back tooth broke off completely leaving me with a hole in tooth (chewing tooth). I'm having to eat soft things and even then sometimes get food caught, having to get a tooth pick at the ready. I know i need to go to dentist but have a real bad phobia of them. Even as bad one day i had to pick my sister up from dentist few years back, i went inside only to meet her.... i had to rush outside and throw up, the smell and sounds of the dentist just got to me and i wasn't even there for me, i was scared! How do i overcome this fear? I'm not registered with one at the moment. I hate injections too and associate dentists with injections and pain and the sounds and the smell (oh gosh i feel ill now)! HELP ... any ideas ?

[jno]

There's nothing for it but to go to one. I know exactly how you feel because I did the same as you: had a bad experience and didn't see a dentist for 10 years. My teeth are now a mess. I wouldn't want that to happen to you.

Dentists aren't painful these days. For a long time I had fillings done under sedation (there's another recent thread on B&S about this) which involves an injection in your hand while you're lying flat (so nowhere to faint). But eventually I just got over it. Now I just have normal dentistry - only more of it and more expensive because I left it too long.

You might try Rescue Remedy or ask a GP to prescribe a tranquilliser to calm your nerves. But you can overcome your fears; I know because I've done it.

[Mamyalynne]

Totally agree with jno I too am a dental phobic and the Rescue Remedy helps me I start it a day or two bwfore appt. The other thing is to make it clear to the practice that you are fearful I always say think I`m a 5 year old.
My next big hurdle is an extraction and will be the first time goimg without my dear late hubby for support.
Good Luck
Mamya x

[Ice.Maiden]

MustangLady - I swear no one's worse than I am. Well - that's how it feels everytime I have to go - even for a check-up, but hun, there are several things you can do. If you've tried relaxation exercises and/or hypnotherapy, your doctor might prescribe 1-2 tablets of valium, like mine did. That still didn't work for me, so I chose to have intravenous sedation, as jno's suggested. You'll need to pay extra for this, but it's well worth it. First of all, look in the Yellow Pages for a dental practice which provides this. You'd probably have to pay for your treatment if you can't find a NHS dentist - and that's on top of the sedation, which works out at around �90 on its own. However, once you've visited a dentist once, he may be able to refer you to a hospital dentist, and thereafter, you wouldn't have to pay. Please go asap. The thought of it's worse than actually having anything done, but the injections are virtually painless. Best of luck.

[andy-hughes]

Register with a dentist, and then tell them about your phobia.

Modern dentists are very sympathetic, and a good dentist will cause you no pain beyond the 'scratch' of a local to numb the nerve.

Your deintist mat prescribe some Diazepam for you, or if not, ask your GP. One 5mg tablet an hour before you go, and you will be fine - trust me, I used to be so phobic i couldn;t even get in the bulding, never mind the surgery and the chair!

I know you know, but you are prolonging the inevitable. The longer you leave your teeth, the more treatment you are going to need when you do go.

It wont be as bad as you think. Promise.

[MustangLady]

Thank you so much for your answers.... I'm so scared even thinking about it. Even as i read your answers, I'm reducing myself to tears, sweating and my pulse is racing. I know that it needs to be done, but the hardest thing is actually doing it. I admire your bravery.... As a fluke, I'm watching t.v. (The One Show) and just now they had a piece on the phobia of dentistry and how one guy overcome it, how spooky is that.... But i had to turn the sound down as i couldn't listen to the drilling and kept turning away, so i don't know what was actually said? I'll look up a local dentist and let you know how i get on, bear with me though it might take a while. I know I cannot go on the way my teeth are, the risk of losing them, but the fear overcomes that at the moment.

[Therema]

Well im not quite as bad as you mustang or the others, but thro a bad experience i never went near a dentist for 20 yrs, my front teeth were all like condemed houses, but i didnt want my 2 boys to go the same so i took them to the dentist faithfully, a new guy he was great with the kids and beleev it or not he got me back into the chair, i get my fillings done regularly as a few of them fal out because of too much movement in the teeth , anyway still not got around to extractions yet *4* but been speaking about crowns for the front ones, it only takes one good dentist to put you at ease and chat with you for as long as it takes till your ready to get work done good luck all of you who has plucked up the courage to go and Mustang you'll be fine hun, thinking about you
Anna

[Octavius]

Well to back up what the others have said, me and my sisters had been put off dentists for years because of the butcher that used to treat us as children. He was very nice, but often drunk and it was always a scary experience.

Modern day dentists are completely different. My wife was a dental nurse and reckons that more often people faint before anything has been done because of their perceived fear, and mostly it is young men who pass out before they sit in the chair. Most practitioners nowadays are sympathetic to such fears and will always encourage calmness and provide gentle treatment, plus medicine has come on leaps and bounds over the years so they won�t be as bad as you remember.

Go and get yourself seen to, the greatest fear you have is going. Once you are in there two-thirds of the battle is over.

[bigmamma]

Mustang honey , believe me when I say I used to be just lie you . A few months ago I had excruciating toothache and just had to get an emergency dentist . The only way I got into that chair was the wonderful help I got from some on CB and some kind souls messages of support. That , along with the pain spurred me on and I was very proud of myself afterwards when I had sat and had 3 numbing injections and the extraction . I didn't feel a thing , and I was so amazed at the difference in the appearance of the dental surgery and the chair , much friendlier than years ago. xxx

[bigmamma]

like*

[yogasun]

Hi Mustang, I'm a bit concerned that your fear might be so extreme that a dentist wouldn't take you on. I'm wondering whether your GP might get you admitted to hospital to have work done under sedation. Otherwise a hypnotherapist might be able to help you if you can wait a bit. Difficult.
Good luck x

[MustangLady]

thank you all... more answers and encouragement than i expected. I thought i was the only one with the fear... bearing in mind, it the thought of injections too- HATE THEM! That doesn't help... the only way it seems that the pain could be resolved from any work being done is through injection to give sedation or numbness to the area being dealt with.. I know i must overcome the terror i feel, but don't know how to. Just getting booked in and through the door, i can't seem to do. I will consider the hypnotherapy option, maybe that will help in the meantime. Thank you again very much.

[boomerang111]

calm down