I just had my second filling done, replacing a 45 year old one which had finally failed. It took slightly more drilling than the first one did, but it wasn't too bad.
I had a scale and polish after that. I was surprised that it was actually quite painful so the dentist stopped and gave an anaesthetic for that too. I didn't want to have an unpleasant experience which revived my fear of dental treatment!
NHS work is only a very small part of their practice and they were straight about it and told me that I would probably die before I got to the front of their queue! This first year will be quite expensive, repairing years of neglect, but costs should be much more reasonable subsequently.
One good thing - the dentist noticed that I had been charged for a scale and polish last time, before I'd actually had that work done, so they didn't charge me for it this time when I
did!
Next week is the biggie - what is left of 2 really nasty broken teeth have to be extracted. Surgery may well be required on my gums to make sure all the bits of rotten teeth are removed. It could get a bit messy because I am on warfarin and will therefore bleed more than most people. I am having a blood test the day before my dental appointment just to make sure that I am not dangerously 'bleedy'. (I should be ok - my results have always been good, but the dentist wants to know that for sure.)
After that, I have one complex filling to be done and there is another tooth which will need attention at some point. It is at the back and would probably need more work and money spending on it than I am prepared to endure. It broke about 20 years ago and has somehow lasted all this time without anything worse happening to it so I think I will leave it a bit longer, and eventually have it extracted when it fails completely.
I've gone into all this detail to try and reassure fellow dental-phobics that modern dentistry is pretty civilised compared to the nightmarish things that were done to me as a child! Find a dentist that you trust to take their time and reassure you.
PS I have decided that I don't need sedation for routine dental work. That saves me quite a lot of money. If I ever need anything really scary doing, then the option is always there.