Starting to worry about my teeth...

If he's advertising for spaces, then go to the practice to have a look round first.

Go in and ask for 'more information.'

A practice leaflet, fee guides, ASK the receptionist what will happen on your first appointment. See what the waiting room looks like. Do the other patients there look happy? Do their teeth look nice!!!? Do they look like they are being kept waiting for ages?

Sometimes, if the place isn't too busy, you might be invited to have a bit of a tour, to see the surgeries, and the cross infection control proceedures and some of the equipment. You might even meet one of the dentists. (Just informally, not for him to look in your mouth.) Ask him what will happen.

If you visit the place before any appointment, then when you go for your proper appointment, you will be stepping back into a place you are already familiar with, and meeting people you have met and chatted to before.

It will be a much less nerve wracking experience.

If you go to that place, and they are too busy to bother with you, don't have any written fee guides, and just rather you weren't there bothering them, then it's not the right place for you, and you shouldn't book an appointment with them anyway.

BUT - find other dental practices within the area, and do the same thing with them.

With a little bit of legwork and effort, you will find the right place to go.

BUT START LOOKING - AND START TOMORROW!!!!!

linzibean i feel like i could thank you a million times over. im also horribly embarrassed over the state of my teeth. ever year i make the resolution that i will go to the dentist, every year i chicken out. i really need to make 2008 the year i face my fear.

im in my mid twenties, and have only ever had one dental appointment i went with my mum to one of her appointments around the age of 5. whatever she was having done didnt go very well and her scream of pain terrified me. i refused to go to my next appointment after that, and because she was too terrified to go herself she never forced the issue.

so here i am in my twenties, with crap teeth, a phobia of the dentists that makes me sick to my stomach and a nagging at the back of my mind that i have to do something about the situation now before i get a serious problem. im 'lucky' so far that other than plaque/tartar and teeth that would benefit from cosmetic dentistry to straighten/get rid of the gaps ive had no serious problems. no toothache, no teeth turning black, no wisdom teeth. but i dont know how long that good luck is going to last.

im scared of being judged, of how much its going to cost, of how hard its gonna be to find a dentist i can afford who can cope with my phobia, of how much work im going to need, that its going to hurt, of loosing my teeth. i just dont know where to start. it doesnt help that i have no real idea what to expect from a trip to the dentist, or how it all works, so i can add fear of the unknown to my list as well

i'll be following this thread with interest, cos im gonna need all the help i can get

thanks sparkyG. had a read through. was getting shaky and upset reading it, yet there were some parts that put my mind a bit more at ease. think this is going to being a long and painful road for me though.

are/were you dental phobic yourself?

I know how you feel about going....i didnt go for quite a few years after something quite scary happened to my mom and was close to bleeding to death (still makes me feel sick)....so i finally plucked up the courage to go, as my wedding was coming up and i wanted nice clean teeth for the photos. It was very scary for me, i was shaking (feel quite silly but cant help it) and when i went in i had to tell them how worried i was. They did put me at ease, and were lovely with me. Telling them how you feel will help, as they will talk you through everything and be gentle with you.

Luckily i didnt have any major problems, but had to go back three times to get my teeth cleaned as id got a build up of plaque etc that needed attention!

Now, i do admit its been two years-so i need to go back asap to get a check up and possible clean again. This is because so much has been going on, i havent got around to going. I will go though.

My next problem is getting my OH to come, he HAS to go as hes just had an absess and needs an x ray and his teeth looking at as its been even longer for him! Hes more scared then i was!

Good luck, im sure everything will be fine!

keely.

I am petrified of dentists as well, I don't know if you saw the other thread about teeth yesterday? I posted that an abscess put me in hospital in intensive care for 3 days, yes? It was my own fault too as I'd stopped going for 8+ years & ignored the problems till they nearly killed me.

I'm still petrified but actually went for my first appointment at my new dentist last month & needed a filling which I had done there & then. He did suggest an injection but I was half out of the seat by the time he'd finished saying it so he changed his mind.