Pure and utter Dental phobia....
Discussion
...I have it....
The very thought of walking into a dentists waiting room makes my stomach churn.
Thoughts of what will actually occur in the chair make me genuinely feel ready to puke.
This is a serious post about a serious phobia.
Im not a little scared of the the drill, Im utterly terrified of going near the place.
My teeth, consequently, are far from perfect. My last dental nightmare was promised to be a root canal, until I said, no, pull it.
The dentist clearly misunderstood my level of phobia, and properly got the arse with my panic during the extraction.
This has done nothing other than escalate my phobia to defcon 10....
...And now I have building toothache....
Given the choice, and a "sensible" price, I would happily go for a full general and have the lot sorted,but it would appear that UK tooth quacks are no longer trusted to do this safely...
What the hell am I going to do ?
Manning up is not an option sadly....
The very thought of walking into a dentists waiting room makes my stomach churn.
Thoughts of what will actually occur in the chair make me genuinely feel ready to puke.
This is a serious post about a serious phobia.
Im not a little scared of the the drill, Im utterly terrified of going near the place.
My teeth, consequently, are far from perfect. My last dental nightmare was promised to be a root canal, until I said, no, pull it.
The dentist clearly misunderstood my level of phobia, and properly got the arse with my panic during the extraction.
This has done nothing other than escalate my phobia to defcon 10....
...And now I have building toothache....
Given the choice, and a "sensible" price, I would happily go for a full general and have the lot sorted,but it would appear that UK tooth quacks are no longer trusted to do this safely...
What the hell am I going to do ?
Manning up is not an option sadly....
Turn7 said:
Smokin - any more details ?
Its not a pain thing per se....its more feeling my head vibrate as the drill hits, the smell of burnt enamel,and the horrible moutj full of surgical gloves.
Im aware this may not be a big thing to others, but its huge to me.....
Yep, teeth went manky, something that was made in his gob as a result got into his blood & fecked his heart up. All through an irrational phobia.Its not a pain thing per se....its more feeling my head vibrate as the drill hits, the smell of burnt enamel,and the horrible moutj full of surgical gloves.
Im aware this may not be a big thing to others, but its huge to me.....
2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:
Turn7 said:
jules_s said:
Drills are faster and sharper I believe
Sadly, it doesnt make any difference mentally what words say, as the fear is now so deep rooted I have no idea how to deal with it.I understand its an irrational fear - but I done understand how to defeat it - or if I even want to tbh....
Just discussing the issue makes me feel wobbly.
Turn7 said:
...I have it....
The very thought of walking into a dentists waiting room makes my stomach churn.
Thoughts of what will actually occur in the chair make me genuinely feel ready to puke.
This is a serious post about a serious phobia.
Im not a little scared of the the drill, Im utterly terrified of going near the place.
My teeth, consequently, are far from perfect. My last dental nightmare was promised to be a root canal, until I said, no, pull it.
The dentist clearly misunderstood my level of phobia, and properly got the arse with my panic during the extraction.
This has done nothing other than escalate my phobia to defcon 10....
...And now I have building toothache....
Given the choice, and a "sensible" price, I would happily go for a full general and have the lot sorted,but it would appear that UK tooth quacks are no longer trusted to do this safely...
What the hell am I going to do ?
Manning up is not an option sadly....
Get doctor to supply diazepan (or similar).The very thought of walking into a dentists waiting room makes my stomach churn.
Thoughts of what will actually occur in the chair make me genuinely feel ready to puke.
This is a serious post about a serious phobia.
Im not a little scared of the the drill, Im utterly terrified of going near the place.
My teeth, consequently, are far from perfect. My last dental nightmare was promised to be a root canal, until I said, no, pull it.
The dentist clearly misunderstood my level of phobia, and properly got the arse with my panic during the extraction.
This has done nothing other than escalate my phobia to defcon 10....
...And now I have building toothache....
Given the choice, and a "sensible" price, I would happily go for a full general and have the lot sorted,but it would appear that UK tooth quacks are no longer trusted to do this safely...
What the hell am I going to do ?
Manning up is not an option sadly....
Turn7 said:
2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:
Turn7 said:
jules_s said:
Drills are faster and sharper I believe
Sadly, it doesnt make any difference mentally what words say, as the fear is now so deep rooted I have no idea how to deal with it.I understand its an irrational fear - but I done understand how to defeat it - or if I even want to tbh....
Just discussing the issue makes me feel wobbly.
Can you be hypnotised to help? (Or maybe have eleven pints prior)
2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:
Turn7 said:
2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:
Turn7 said:
jules_s said:
Drills are faster and sharper I believe
Sadly, it doesnt make any difference mentally what words say, as the fear is now so deep rooted I have no idea how to deal with it.I understand its an irrational fear - but I done understand how to defeat it - or if I even want to tbh....
Just discussing the issue makes me feel wobbly.
Can you be hypnotised to help? (Or maybe have eleven pints prior)
The missus was the same after a couple of bad experiences with an east london butcher. Took her to the place that I go to once she could no longer bare the pain from a tooth. They've got ipads fixed up above your head and headphones to wear, she watched a film on netflix whilst getting her tooth sorted and didn't feel a thing. Good dentist, good anesthetic and a distraction is what you need.
https://www.essexcosmeticdentists.co.uk/nervous-pa...
They're not the cheapest place in the world though...
https://www.essexcosmeticdentists.co.uk/nervous-pa...
They're not the cheapest place in the world though...
Edited by s p a c e m a n on Friday 6th January 21:23
Same scale of phobia here.
I am embarrassed to admit how many years I went without seeing a dentist. Fortunately I didn't have any issues during the wilderness years.
About 4 years ago I accidentally bumped heads with my Great Dane and ended up chipping a front tooth fairly obviously. I put off doing anything about it for months and months and ignored or blanked or laughed off anyone saying anything about doing something about it.
Eventually I asked my wife to do some research as to who was recommended in our area as an NHS dentist with experience of folk with real phobias and I assume she registered me and made the initial appointment. I had cold sweats just thinking about looking into it all and if it was left to me, nothing would have happened.
At the dentists suggestion, I visited the surgery 3 times before my appointment, just to go to the waiting room and sit in it for a few minutes. First time I went I was dripping with cold sweat before getting to the surgery door.
Anyhow, on THE day I was lucky in that the Dentist was great and my chipped tooth was fixed by having something bonded on and nothing hurt (although I wasn't actually scared of pain, just of being there)
My assessment showed that I needed a couple of fillings and also an extraction. I have sort of blanked out the details of them in my head because I don't like thinking about it but these appointments were made and kept and again nothing hurt and the reality of the treatment was nowhere near my fear of going for it. My dentist is brilliant, I am sure most are. He tells me exactly what he is going to do before he does it and what everything he uses does before he uses it. I don't really know if that helps but it means there are no surprises.
I am now on 6 monthly check-ups. I still absolutely hate going, I am still known at the surgery as "the man with the phobia" and even tho I am one of the most disorganised guys you could meet and forget what I am doing from one week to the next, I can still parrot off my next dental appointment date and time because it is so significant an upcoming event.
I am embarrassed to admit how many years I went without seeing a dentist. Fortunately I didn't have any issues during the wilderness years.
About 4 years ago I accidentally bumped heads with my Great Dane and ended up chipping a front tooth fairly obviously. I put off doing anything about it for months and months and ignored or blanked or laughed off anyone saying anything about doing something about it.
Eventually I asked my wife to do some research as to who was recommended in our area as an NHS dentist with experience of folk with real phobias and I assume she registered me and made the initial appointment. I had cold sweats just thinking about looking into it all and if it was left to me, nothing would have happened.
At the dentists suggestion, I visited the surgery 3 times before my appointment, just to go to the waiting room and sit in it for a few minutes. First time I went I was dripping with cold sweat before getting to the surgery door.
Anyhow, on THE day I was lucky in that the Dentist was great and my chipped tooth was fixed by having something bonded on and nothing hurt (although I wasn't actually scared of pain, just of being there)
My assessment showed that I needed a couple of fillings and also an extraction. I have sort of blanked out the details of them in my head because I don't like thinking about it but these appointments were made and kept and again nothing hurt and the reality of the treatment was nowhere near my fear of going for it. My dentist is brilliant, I am sure most are. He tells me exactly what he is going to do before he does it and what everything he uses does before he uses it. I don't really know if that helps but it means there are no surprises.
I am now on 6 monthly check-ups. I still absolutely hate going, I am still known at the surgery as "the man with the phobia" and even tho I am one of the most disorganised guys you could meet and forget what I am doing from one week to the next, I can still parrot off my next dental appointment date and time because it is so significant an upcoming event.
I'm local to you (Herts). After many years of bad treatment and pain, I share your dislike for dentists and travel back to my former dentist in Bourne End (Bucks), Stephen Rees. He is awesome but not cheap.
The Mrs uses Dr Patel @ Birchwood Dental in Hatfield and he is also very, very good given her phobia, she is far worse than I am.
The Mrs uses Dr Patel @ Birchwood Dental in Hatfield and he is also very, very good given her phobia, she is far worse than I am.
I'm also scared of the dentist
However my last 2 trips, whilst cacking myself beforehand, were very tolerable. That was for a root canal, eventual extraction and more recently a major filling just last week
I think dentistry things must have moved on in recent years, even the injection was pretty painless
However my last 2 trips, whilst cacking myself beforehand, were very tolerable. That was for a root canal, eventual extraction and more recently a major filling just last week
I think dentistry things must have moved on in recent years, even the injection was pretty painless
and always craved a mcdonalds afterwards. I also had a very bad phobia of the dentist, and have recently managed to get over it and have quite a few bits and pieces sorted out, including a wisdom tooth extraction and root canal.
I would recommend you either get referred on NHS for sedation, or pay for it privately (think it's about £300 a pop) at least at first. They put a drip in your arm, you're conscious but out of it and won't have much memory of the procedure. I had it for my wisdom extraction and was definitely worth it.
I think as with a lot of things, it's easier the more you do it. If you force yourself to take that first step, after a few times you may be able to get through it a lot easier.
Good luck!
I would recommend you either get referred on NHS for sedation, or pay for it privately (think it's about £300 a pop) at least at first. They put a drip in your arm, you're conscious but out of it and won't have much memory of the procedure. I had it for my wisdom extraction and was definitely worth it.
I think as with a lot of things, it's easier the more you do it. If you force yourself to take that first step, after a few times you may be able to get through it a lot easier.
Good luck!
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