no nhs dentists and my teeth are hurting :(

prettypoppyknickers

hello

i need a dentist to sort my teeth out but they need to be understanding and i would rather be knocked out because it has taken me 5 years to ring them up and i end up crying at the gate and not being able to get any further, is there any idea what i can do (other than take drugs) as to be seen by a dentist i dont really want to wait until it becomes a absess

jeannieblue

prettypoppyknickers wrote: »

hello

i need a dentist to sort my teeth out but they need to be understanding and i would rather be knocked out because it has taken me 5 years to ring them up and i end up crying at the gate and not being able to get any further, is there any idea what i can do (other than take drugs) as to be seen by a dentist i dont really want to wait until it becomes a absess

Poor you...

I know the feeling - not sure you will get any constructive advice this time of night. Hopefully Toothsmith will be along shortly to give you some good advice. If not, tomorrow, try and sleep well x

BitterAndTwisted

Here I am!

I used to be exactly the same Prettypoppyknicks until I found a sympathetic, understanding dentist. When I first went to him I had him give me a valium injection to knock me out because I was so terribly afraid. The fear was mostly due to having had such a rotten, horrible dentist as a child. I was away at school so had no choice but to see him and it marked me for life (or so I thought). Anyway, back to the nice dentist: he performed a whole course of treatment with me on the valium and all was well. When, quite a long time later I developed an abcess (in a tooth which he hadn't treated before so not his fault) and I let him talk me into performing oral surgery under a local anaesthetic only. I was still afraid but I trusted him and it wasn't as awful as I feared it would be. I felt that I'd conquered Everest afterwards and felt proud of myself and grateful for his patience.

All dentists know that there are nervous patients out there, it's part of their training. It's their job to reassure you and have you comply with the course of treatment, not fight you and hurt you and you never go back to finish the work.

Tell them you're a VERY nervous patient when you make the booking and they should look after you properly. They'll probably just take a look and do some X-rays on the first visit so that won't be too scary.

The new treatments and new equipment they have now bears no comparison to what it was only a few years ago. There's no need to feel any pain or discomfort during your visit. You just need to find a dentist who will help you. A personal recommendation would be ideal.

If you're too frightened to walk in the door (and I know I was once) try hypnotherapy. This can work wonders for this kind of fear.

Good luck, you'll be so glad when you've got this sorted. And you will get it sorted, I'm sure.

Toothsmith

One thing you could try is going to a practice to make an appointment rather than ringing up.

That way, you will have gone through the door, and met some of the people there, safe in the knowledge that you're not going to have your teeth looked at on that day.

Then - when time comes for your appointment, it will not be the completely unknown place it would be had you only rung up. There will be some familiar faces there, and you will recognize people.

Getting through the front door for the first time IS the hardest thing, after that, it's all downhill.

Really.

dizziblonde

Get a friend to go with you. I know how you feel - I did 2 years with toothache before the pain finally got too much and I started trying to find an NHS dentist. The first guy I went to was delightful and told me all my teeth would fall out - I came out of there in tears and went back to suffering pain.
Then our parent helper at school got fed up with me having toothache and gave me the number of another practice taking on patients - I still have to get my fiance to go with me to stop me running out of the waiting room in terror but I'm getting better. Bizarrely one thing that helps me is that it's an overseas dentist with cruddy English - so he skips the small talk and just gets on and does it. Result is that when my filling fell out the other day I actually got on the phone and made an appointment instead of pratting around with painkillers for months like I would have done previously.

BitterAndTwisted

I meant to mention this in my earlier late-night post: a LOT of toothache is caused by gum problems rather than actual decay so it is possible that you're not facing a lot of drilling or extractions or anything horrible and frightening. There is a chance that you might not need anything more radical than a few trips to the hygienist. The expense pays MASSIVE dividends. This generally includes a telling-off about not flossing as well but it is worth it

belfastgirl23

The way to avoid the telling off is to start by saying I know I know I haven't been for a long time and I'm sooo scared. Usually they're nice to you after that and if they aren't then you're in the wrong place

As a fraidy cat myself I do think dentistry has come on in leaps and bounds in dealing with this sort of thing and they are normally very understanding about you being nervous. In your shoes I would ask around friends and see if anyone can recommend a really good dentist who is understanding about nerves.

your first appointment will just be them figuring out what needs done so you should be able to go to it no problem. I know my brother did just have one lengthy session after that where they knocked him out and did a huge amount of work but it did cost him a lot. In his view well worth it though.

Why not just make that first exploratory appointment and see how you go from there? You could be worrying about nothing!

Edited to say (and toothsmith might shout about this) I always take a couple of painkillers before a hygenist appointment because my teeth are very sensitive to the cold and I figure I may as well be ahead of the pain you can't really do this for a check up though because they need to know if it hurts or not...

scotsgirl_3

Having been there myself, I would suggest finding a dentist who is particularly good in dealing with phobics - there are a couple of dental forums around (dental far central is one of them) where people will often recommend dentists in your area who deal with this.

I found my own dentist this way after not having been for 10 years and being utterly terrified. He was so careful and gentle, very very sympathetic, and whilst I find the thought of going to another dentist very scary, I am not too bad about repeat visits now. I've even had (horror of horrors) injections from him. These are my ultimate fear and i was utterly shocked to find that it is possible to not feel a thing.

try to find someone with a good solid reputation, maybe even someone who has a nervous patients program. I did have to go private for this but whilst it isn't MSE it is worth every single penny.

bignev_3

I dread going, but the anticipation is worse than the treatment. I try to remember this before I go in! Once they have done the injection (the worst bit), it just feels weird rather than painful!

You can be sedated if necessary - I haven't been, but know someone who was.

jugglebug

belfastgirl23 wrote: »

Edited to say (and toothsmith might shout about this) I always take a couple of painkillers before a hygenist appointment because my teeth are very sensitive to the cold and I figure I may as well be ahead of the pain you can't really do this for a check up though because they need to know if it hurts or not...

I sometimes tell my patients to do this, not usually for a scaling but for some things..
Thing is you need to find out why your teeth are so sensitive..
Recession? Cracks? the list of potential causes are endless.

One thing that is often missed is that people use the sensitive care toothpastes such as sensodyne (boots own brand is just as good IMO btw) but then after brushing rinse immediately afterwards... hmm That leads to a nicely desensitised Ubend on the sink but does naff all to the tooth. Brush Spit but *Do Not Rinse!*
Fluoride mouthwashes work well as de sensitisers too but the key to Fluoride working is little and often. There is no value at all in using one at the same time as you brush if your paste already has Fluoride in. So use one at a different time of day.

belfastgirl23

jugglebug wrote: »

I sometimes tell my patients to do this, not usually for a scaling but for some things..
Thing is you need to find out why your teeth are so sensitive..
Recession? Cracks? the list of potential causes are endless.

One thing that is often missed is that people use the sensitive care toothpastes such as sensodyne (boots own brand is just as good IMO btw) but then after brushing rinse immediately afterwards... hmm That leads to a nicely desensitised Ubend on the sink but does naff all to the tooth. Brush Spit but *Do Not Rinse!*
.

Sensitive because alas I mistreated them in my youth and have many big old fillings - mea culpa

I did not know that about the sensitive toothpaste, I guess I thought you'd grow a toothpaste tree in your tummy if you didn't rinse. Thanks!