Help......please!!!

[speccy1]

I`m ashamed to admit, but I am seriously sh*t scared of dentists - I know a lot of people are but I have a really bad case of this, even the "d" word churns my guts!

Anybody else in the same boat and managed to get round it?? I need some treatment and obviously this means going (I haven`t been for a long time - about 6 years), just need to overcome this problem!

I would be eternally grateful to anybody who could put my mind at rest with a few tips

Thanks guys

 

[Lisa21]

Im the same and eventually needed a dentist so badly for my wisdom teeth that my doctor referred me to a dentist at the hospital who is specifically for EXTREMELY nervous people, I managed to get as far as sitting in his chair to talk to him and after a few weeks I was able to get my problem sorted with the help of a little sedation(not easy either as im sh*t scared of needles too)Now I can go for regular checkups and feel pretty much ok and any work to be done Im getting better and dont dread it as much but it is all due to a VERY understanding,patient and wonderful dentist who I trust completely.Get your doctor to refer you via the hospital and hopefully you will overcome it a bit-it takes time but if I can do it it can be done.Only someone with such a phobia could understand as to other people its just daft!!! Good Luck

 

[dan_bo]

Vallium. Seriously-ask your doc.

 

[RedBike]

I'm in the same boat. I've no fear of the Dentist or the needles themselves. It's the pain killers I really can't stand. Not only do I freak out at having a num mouth i've got a heart condition and the medication for that complicates things.

I got around this problem by having most things done without pain killers. I've had 2/3 fillings done like this and I can honestly say they don't hurt.

 

[rog 1974]

wait untill your teeth hurt more than the treatment then you will be happy to go. im the same i look quiet funny in the waitng room in a cold sweat at 6ft 7.

 

[speccy1]

Cheers for the replies

I didn`t know you could go through your doctor, will give it a try.

Does valium work?? Would gladly try it if it helps!!

 

[Panter]

Im the same and eventually needed a dentist so badly for my wisdom teeth that my doctor referred me to a dentist at the hospital who is specifically for EXTREMELY nervous people, I managed to get as far as sitting in his chair to talk to him and after a few weeks I was able to get my problem sorted with the help of a little sedation(not easy either as im sh*t scared of needles too)Now I can go for regular checkups and feel pretty much ok and any work to be done Im getting better and dont dread it as much but it is all due to a VERY understanding,patient and wonderful dentist who I trust completely.Get your doctor to refer you via the hospital and hopefully you will overcome it a bit-it takes time but if I can do it it can be done.Only someone with such a phobia could understand as to other people its just daft!!! Good Luck

+1, but you can do it through your dentist.

When you first go down there, just explain that you're terrified and you are merely there for a check-up and they will refer you to a clinic where you can have any work required all done under sedation.

Don't knock sedation either, the name implies that it merely makes you a bit calmer, not a bit of it
I was completely out of it and didn't remember a thing both times I had it done

 

[speccy1]

Many thanks

I`ll give it my best shot!!

 

[Lisa21]

+1, but you can do it through your dentist.



Don't knock sedation either, the name implies that it merely makes you a bit calmer, not a bit of it
I was completely out of it and didn't remember a thing both times I had it done

+1

You can go via your dentist but I didnt have one at the time(hadnt been near one for about 10 years)which is why I went to my doctor.

Sedation is great though, tiny injection in the back of your hand(doesnt even hurt)and then you know nothing. You will need someone with you to take you home though as you will be out of it for 2 or 3 hours and wont be able to make your own way home.In fact I think you have to take someone or they wont do it if your on your own. Good luck you will be ok honestly.

 

[TVC]

I had a complete fear of dentists to the extent that I only went when I really had to, but I'm cured now. I lost both my front teeth when I was hit by a car and ended up with 11 appointments over three months whilst they repaired the damage andfitted crowns.
The thing was, I went to a brand new practice with all new equipment and young staff. I realised that without the stuffy run down waiting room and no smell of iodene and bleach that had fixed in my brain from the bad memories as a kid, a lot of the anxiety went away and the whole process was bearable.
My advice then, is get yourself with a modern new practice where they have the latest kit and doctors with knowledge of the best new techniques. If you go to a guy who has been working for 30 years, then his ideas will be 30 years out of date, as will his kit.

 

[amrushton]

I avoided dentists from a young age to about 18 and ended up with mouth full of amalgam. Put off going again until my mid-twenties and had a long series of sessions at the University Dental Hospital. They let me take my walkman in (I hate that drill noise) and explained how the instruments worked etc. it pretty much got me over my fear. But try having an abcess and decide which is better, a few minutes of dental work from a highly trained professional or hours/days of constant pain

 

[Lisa21]

Hi Speccy1, my doc just referred me, then after a couple of weeks wait I had an appointment come through to see the dentist at the hospital for a consultation. As soon as I sat in the chair I burst into tears!!!!! He looked at his assistant and said "I knew I should have worn a different shirt!!"
He was great, really put me at ease, and made me an appointment to go back the following week.All in all I had 4 wisdom teeth and one other out, and 4 fillings-all with the help of sedation(which honestly is great)and Iv been seeing him for a few years now and have got so much more confidence in going-I still dread it but not as much, and my last 4 six monthly checkups were fine and Iv not needed anything done.Id go and have a talk to your doctor and make that first step, youll not look back I promise.And let me know how you get on.I tried to pm you this but your not set up to recieve pms although i got yours ok.

 

[garrilla]

Or you can come and visit me in my shed. I've got many drills, a good selection of pliers and all kinds of chisels and files. There will be no fee and no pain killer.