Pain in teeth- really scared (Scaredy cat)

Lady_E

Well after another night of bad sleep, went to the dentist at 830am . Friendly receptionist told me to take a seat and the dentist would be with me shortly. Best thing with an early appt, was no drilling sound , so off to a good start. Saw the dentist and after explaining I was scaredy cat, and not on any medication(maybe I should be LOL) she then asked what the problem was. I then sat in the chair with my mouth open and she said"I am only going to look" and she was true to her word. She then took some xrays and then tapped on all my teeth to find out which ones were sensitive.
The xrays were processed and the bottom line is I DONT have gum disease (whoppppppeee ) but I do have a build up of plaque at the back of my teeth which if left unattended could develop into gum disease . She suggested that I need to see a dental hygenist (appt made) and gave me advice about my cleaning procedure and which products to use. She then showed me the xrays and whilst she has established the two fillings which are suspect for the pain (both next to each other) we are going to have to wait until the pain gets worse so she knows which tooth is the problem. At that point I have to ring and get an appt and then work out if I have an extraction or rootcanal.At the moment there are no signs of infection which is obviously a good thing.

I have to say I am relieved ......I know I have to go back but I feel confident that she knows how I feel about dentists and she will do what she can to make it bearable.

I am not entirely sure about the root canal treatment , if I am honest I dont know what it means or entails. With either root canal or extraction , can I go for sedation?

Also the dental hygenist , when they are cleaning do they use a drill thingy or is it some sort of buffer ...sorry I need to prepare mentally.

I forgot to say I didnt get a sticker but when I have the work done , I hope I will get one then.;)

Toothsmith

The scariest thing is getting through the front door for the first time.

Once you've done that, then each time you go gets a little bit easier.

They may do sedation, they may not - not everywhere does. But - it sounds like you have found a good understanding dentist, and would you really want to go through the stress of another new place just to get some drugs shot into your veins?

The drugs are good for REAL phobics (If you were a real phobic, you wouldn't have been able to do what you did today.) Don't get me wrong - what you did today was HUGE - but from what you say, and from how you describe your dentist, I think you can get through this without sedation.

Sedation tends to breed a bit of dependancy. Not like addiction, but with people feeling they couldn't possibly manage any treatment, ever, without it.

As I said, you have done the hard bit. When you next go it will be to a familiar place, to see a familiar person.

Yes - there will still be a bit of unknown stuff to face, but your stress levels will be that little bit less because of today.

Doubtless there will be people posting good and bad root filling experiences on here now - but I'd ask you to ignore those. The only one that matters is yours, and with a dentist who knows you're nervous, it should be done in perfectly manageable steps.

Keep going, but don't look too far ahead, and be guided by the dentist.

KentishLady

Lady_E wrote: »

Well after another night of bad sleep, went to the dentist at 830am . Friendly receptionist told me to take a seat and the dentist would be with me shortly. Best thing with an early appt, was no drilling sound , so off to a good start. Saw the dentist and after explaining I was scaredy cat, and not on any medication(maybe I should be LOL) she then asked what the problem was. I then sat in the chair with my mouth open and she said"I am only going to look" and she was true to her word. She then took some xrays and then tapped on all my teeth to find out which ones were sensitive.
The xrays were processed and the bottom line is I DONT have gum disease (whoppppppeee ) but I do have a build up of plaque at the back of my teeth which if left unattended could develop into gum disease . She suggested that I need to see a dental hygenist (appt made) and gave me advice about my cleaning procedure and which products to use. She then showed me the xrays and whilst she has established the two fillings which are suspect for the pain (both next to each other) we are going to have to wait until the pain gets worse so she knows which tooth is the problem. At that point I have to ring and get an appt and then work out if I have an extraction or rootcanal.At the moment there are no signs of infection which is obviously a good thing.

I have to say I am relieved ......I know I have to go back but I feel confident that she knows how I feel about dentists and she will do what she can to make it bearable.

I am not entirely sure about the root canal treatment , if I am honest I dont know what it means or entails. With either root canal or extraction , can I go for sedation?

Also the dental hygenist , when they are cleaning do they use a drill thingy or is it some sort of buffer ...sorry I need to prepare mentally.

I forgot to say I didnt get a sticker but when I have the work done , I hope I will get one then.;)

I used to be scared of going to the dentist and would only go if I was in pain. I eventually found a dentist I could trust and had to have root canal on two teeth next to each other. It was not as bad as I thought it was going to be and I didnt feel any pain.

Ignore any scary stories people tell you. If your dentist is as patient as she sounds, and root canal is the treatment option chosen, she will take it at your pace and you'll be fine.

~Chameleon~

I've also been terrified of dentists for years and all previous work including fillings, root canal treatment and extractions had to be done under sedation. Like you, I went many years without seeing a dentist but finally managed to register with an NHS dentist last year and the lady I see is fantastic!

Since seeing her I've had several appts with the hygienist and earlier this week I had to have an extraction (rear molar so has a double root!) and I managed to have it all done without being sedated!!! :T

I'm sure you'll be fine, although that's easy to say, I know, as I was really dreading this appt and ready for backing out and asking to be referred to the hospital to be sedated for it, but now I'm glad I went through with it.