I'm a wuss...

[Veronica]

I'm going to the dentist in 15 minutes so he can drill away my huge old filling and fit me for a crown. It's going to hurt, I know it's going to hurt. I hate the Novocaine shot. I hate keeping my mouth open for so long. I have a little mouth (in spite of talking a lot) and it hurts to keep it open so they can work in the back. I hate the smell of the drill and the sound of the drill.

I've been dreading this all day...

Veronica

[BikingNurse]

Sorry. Remember to tell them no epinepherine. I find it easier to deal with the dentist's office when my heart it's going crazy and I'm not freezing to death.

[Crankin]

Pretend you are climbing a really big hill when you get the Novacaine. Breathe through your nose.
I have a little mouth, too. My dentist tried to use some new type of automatic plastic holder thing to keep my mouth open when I had my last filling replaced. I just about puked and started hyperventilating, until I told her to get that thing out of my mouth!

[nolemom]

I had some pretty horrific experiences as a child with an incompetent dentist and find it very hard to relax even though my current dentist is amazing. After a visit where I clutched the arms of the chair with a deathgrip, he recommended a low dose of valium. It does require someone pick me up after the procedure, but it is well worth it. Because I am more relaxed they can use less medication during the procedure. I only use the valium for fillings or crowns (luckily none lately). I have built up a great deal of trust with this dentist and now I don't have much anxiety for cleanings. It may be worth discussing with your dentist.

[Veronica]

I survived. My current dentist is really good and I hardly felt the shots.

I think a lot of my anxiety comes from bad childhood experiences.

Veronica

[badgercat]

Glad to hear it went ok! :)

[Tri Girl]

Glad it went OK.

I'm a bigger wuss because I haven't been to the dentist in 2 years because I absolutely am terrified of him (even tho he's quite nice and gentle).

[Blue_Fedora]

I know it can be scary. I had 14 root canals and 18 crowns so I'm all too familiar with what you were facing. I, too, have a very small mouth despite the fact that I'm rather talkative with those who know me :)

I had horrible experiences as a child and then as an adult just chose not to go for years and years. Luckily I didn't have any major problems but finally decided I wanted "perfect teeth" and would do what it took. Before the dentist would do the cosmetic work he had to deal with removing all those old mercury molar-fillings from my childhood... and unfortunately there just wasn't much left of the molars once that was done so they had to be crowned. It was a long haul but I'm living proof a true dental-phobic can come thru it on the other side :)

Glad it went well for you today and your anxiety was worse than the visit itself :)

[Zen]

I'm in a similar situation as Blue.
I've got a mouth full of crowns, three implants and a beautiful smile.
it took a long time and cost a lot of money but in my opinion, knowing you have a nice smile does a lot for self confidence.

And I'm now a devout WaterPik user.

[Blue_Fedora]

I'm in a similar situation as Blue.
I've got a mouth full of crowns, three implants and a beautiful smile.
it took a long time and cost a lot of money but in my opinion, knowing you have a nice smile does a lot for self confidence.

And I'm now a devout WaterPik user.

Similar, Zen... I'm a devout Sonicare user :)

[maillotpois]

I had to get a crown replaced recently (:mad:) and I asked for nitrous.... Drilling out a crown is just awful - so loud and jerky. That is the second crown I have had to have replaced. So much money down the tubes.

Anyway, too late now, but my suggestion would have been ask for nitrous.

and I finally got a good dentist, too. He's a cyclist and has done loaded tours over Sonora and Tioga passes. :)

[Zen]

The last time I got nitrous I was sitting in the chair laughing at my own thoughts.
I had never had nitrous before.

[Blueberry]

My filling replacement didn't go well. It's a little filling - thankfully, no crown. But we discovered that the sedative they gave me to take the edge off wires me. And I have really sensitive teeth.

It seems the new filling is "just supposed to hurt" for 8 weeks?! I can't breathe through my mouth without it hurting (or brush with my electric toothbrush). :mad: I tried to make the point that I needed something better just waiting for exercise because breathing hard HURTS (can't they coat it or something?), but they said just tape a bag over my nose to warm up the air (I am NOT kidding).

Time for (another) new dentist.

[Zen]

Time for (another) new dentist.

No kidding! That's bizarre. I'd start looking asap to address this very issue

[alexis_the_tiny]

Its ok, who likes to get needles stuck in their mouths anyway? The last time I saw my dentist was a year ago, my wisdom tooth was infected and about to kill me. He had to schedule surgery for the next day and to get me in for it, he wrote me a script for Midazolam and performed it under conscious sedation. Cost me the price of a new bike but I didn't remember a single thing about the surgery. He's also very happy to hand out extremely strong painkillers after surgeries, instead of just ibuprofen.

However, I'm STILL such a big wuss that despite knowing how accommodating this dentist is and how pain-free my visits to him can be, I refuse to go back in for check ups.

[badger]

the amount of money I (and my parents as I was growing up) have spent on my mouth would buy me a castle in Nepal.

I've had so much work done on my teeth over the years I just simply don't get nervous anymore. I used to have horrible panic attacks and I remember stopping the dentist at a crucial moment during one of my crowns because I was having an "oh my god, I'm dying!" attacks.

Ativan helped me for years until I simply became de-sensitized. I went so much that it really doesn't bother me anymore.

[Lesley_x]

I have dry mouth so I routinely have fillings/crowns etc. The only thing I cannot stand is anything messing with my gag reflex, like impressions. I would rather have a tooth pulled than need a full impression of my upper jaw. I can take injections, extractions, fillings with little fuss.

And this is coming from someone who is a dentist herself...

Being 'afraid' of the dentist is totally normal. Think about how much your personal space is invaded and it's no wonder we often feel threatened.

[OakLeaf]

I love my dentist. He does really good work, I barely feel a thing, and on the rare occasion that I ask for another shot or a break, he responds immediately. He always gives me a topical before the shot, although I don't strictly need that.

Crowns don't do anything for my appearance though, since I brux too much to get porcelain ones (the whole reason my "real" teeth are crumbling). More gold in my grin every year or two. :rolleyes:

DH had some bad childhood experiences and won't go near the dentist, and his teeth are terrible. He had to have a couple of extractions several years ago and never went back for a bridge or implants (even though the extractions went really well, he was able to find a dentist who would sedate him and I made sure he started taking the pain pills before either the sedation or the local wore off. But like anything, one bad childhood experience has a whole lot more effect on the psyche than any number of good adult experiences. :(

Glad you made it through.

[indysteel]

I used to hate going to the dentist, but now it doesn't bother me in the least thanks to a very kind dentist and her staff. My parents have horrible teeth (peridontal disease), so I made a commitment to try to take care of mine. I've also had braces since October of 2007. I had some extractions in September and since then--in an effort to get them off as soon as possible--I see my orthodontist every two weeks. So, I'm used to regular pain and discomfort at this point. Since getting the braces, I see my dentist every four months just to get a good cleaning. I love everyone in the office so much that I look forward to it. Weird, huh?

[maillotpois]

It seems the new filling is "just supposed to hurt" for 8 weeks?! I can't breathe through my mouth without it hurting (or brush with my electric toothbrush). :mad:

Totally not ok.

[SheFly]

V - I had to go for 2 fillings this week, and like you, stressed over it. I HATE the dentist (even though mine is very good and I have been going to him for 10 years). I had to have one top and one bottom filling, both in the back - a problem for someone with a bad gag reflex.

I got the topical first, and then the top shot, which was fine. With the bottom shot though, I thought I was going to DIE! It really hurt, but did numb me instantly. thirty minutes later, I was out the door, but numb for 2.5 hours afterwards!

I went for a ride, but couldn't eat or drink anything with half my mouth not working... I kept it short.

Good for another 100K miles now, or at least until my next cleaning. :D

SheFly

[Blue_Fedora]

My filling replacement didn't go well. It's a little filling - thankfully, no crown. But we discovered that the sedative they gave me to take the edge off wires me. And I have really sensitive teeth.

It seems the new filling is "just supposed to hurt" for 8 weeks?! I can't breathe through my mouth without it hurting (or brush with my electric toothbrush). :mad: I tried to make the point that I needed something better just waiting for exercise because breathing hard HURTS (can't they coat it or something?), but they said just tape a bag over my nose to warm up the air (I am NOT kidding).

Time for (another) new dentist.

I discovered I was allergic to Lidocaine during my endodontic work. I had no idea that the incredible, crack-fiend-like intense itching as it was wearing off meant I was allergic to the stuff. Good Lord was that itching just awful.

As for the fact that you can't breathe through your mouth without it hurting that is a real problem and if you have not mentioned that specific problem to the dental staff, you definitely should. If you have and it wasn't addressed beyond "that's just how it is" I would find a new dental office. I had the same experience with two of my incisors that were crowned. They were not root canal'd but as you know with crowns they have to remove a LOT of your existing tooth. The fact that inhaling air-temperature air through my mouth was causing excruciating pain in those two teeth was an indicator that what was left of the exiting tooth was waaaay too close to the nerve (not enough protecting it). I opted to have both incisors root canal'd thru the crown to remediate the situation.

Definitely, definitely, definitely take action to have the "can't breathe through my mouth without it hurting" problem resolved. It's not normal and I know just how painful that is for you.

HUGS!

[Biciclista]

yeah, I agree with Blue Fedora. Sounds like you need a root canal. This happened to me recently we replaced an old cracked crown (that wasn't bothering me a BIT!) they put the temp on and my tooth just started throbbing, day and not. Not badly, but always there. The Dentist said this happens sometimes and the only cure is to kill that nerve.

I get a kick out of root canals. I have a cute young endodontist, he uses all kinds of really strange tiny saws and things, there's no pain at all... it's not like it used to be..

[ny biker]

However, I'm STILL such a big wuss that despite knowing how accommodating this dentist is and how pain-free my visits to him can be, I refuse to go back in for check ups.

One lesson I've learned the hard way: when it comes to teeth and heat pumps, if you don't have the pros do maintenance every six months, it will cost you big bucks down the road. And with teeth you get physical pain on top of financial pain.

Whereas going for a cleaning every six months hardly hurts at all.

I love my dentist. He's geographically inconvenient but worth the trip. He's also the only medical person I've ever been to who went to the same college as me.

[Blueberry]

I'm going to give it a little while to see if it calms down. According to my dentist, it is a very shallow filling and shouldn't be that close to the nerve. They're surprised it's bothering me, but they said that in a very few cases it does (I did mention air hurting) but they've never had it NOT go away. Maybe I'm just cursed with sensitive tooth nerves? If that's the case, I might have to go the root canal route. Thank God for good dental insurance.

Thankfully, it feels better today than it did last night (and it had been improving from Monday until she had to file it down last night because it was way too rough and causing more problems). I'm OK until I get on the bike - that air flow is too much still. But cold doesn't hurt - go figure. If it isn't better in a week, I'll find someone else to take a look....

Thanks for all the sympathy. Dental issues just suck.

[Veronica]

I'm thrilled that it's not just me who has "dental" issues. :D Maybe I'm not such a basket case after all.

For the last year I've had my cleanings every two months. I've got some deep pockets in my gums in the back and my hygienist kept threatening me with the oral surgeon. Knowing I'm seeing the hygienist makes me floss. The pockets are better, so we're moving to every three months this year. Yeah, I end up paying out of pocket. But that's what flex spending is for. Plus I realized the other day, my mom got her dentures when she was about my age. I'll pay the dough to keep my teeth for awhile. Gotta keep flossing...

Veronica

[BikingNurse]

OP~ glad it was ok for you yesterday.

Blueberry~ a new or revised filling can actually be sore/tender/bothersome for a bit... but hurt? thats were the line is drawn. It does have to do with getting so close to the nerve and messing around inthere (I used to be a dental assistant before I was in nursing). I've only had one of my own be bothersome for a period of time after it was done again but I know they got close to nerves in that tooth.

also, there seems to be a corelation with those of us with small mouths and being very talkative. hehe

[OakLeaf]

One of my crowns was very sensitive for a good long time. I don't remember now how long, but I'm sure it was at least two months. It did go away eventually.

[snapdragen]

My dentist is awesome, I've been seeing her for about 5 years now. She has this nifty machine in her office that makes crowns, no temporaries needed, and the one I have looks like a real tooth.

Still hate the shots though....:rolleyes:

[badger]

Crowns don't do anything for my appearance though, since I brux too much to get porcelain ones (the whole reason my "real" teeth are crumbling). More gold in my grin every year or two. :rolleyes:



I have 12 porcelain veneers on my top teeth, and I'm a MAJOR grinder, as in "I've never seen anyone grind so hard" (dentist). I have a special "balanced" grinding guard that was made by a bite specialist that supposedly puts the jaw in such a position that while I still clench, it doesn't stress the teeth or the muscles as much as the regular guards.

It was a stipulation by my dentist that he wasn't going to do the veneers if I didn't get a guard because otherwise I'll crack them (I did crack one, and that's why I had to get the "balanced" guard, which set me back $1000...)

[Blue_Fedora]

I have 12 porcelain veneers on my top teeth, and I'm a MAJOR grinder, as in "I've never seen anyone grind so hard" (dentist). I have a special "balanced" grinding guard that was made by a bite specialist that supposedly puts the jaw in such a position that while I still clench, it doesn't stress the teeth or the muscles as much as the regular guards.

It was a stipulation by my dentist that he wasn't going to do the veneers if I didn't get a guard because otherwise I'll crack them (I did crack one, and that's why I had to get the "balanced" guard, which set me back $1000...)

Badger, based on my experience the price of your balanced guard was about the same as if you had to have one of those nice veneers replaced! Not a bad deal. Better $1k on the guard than $12k to replace all the veneers :) And for the record, if the dentist says he's never seen anyone grind so hard then you, my dear, are one heckuva grinder =)

[badger]

yeah, you have to put things into perspective, but then you look at this small piece of plastic that looks just like all the other guards I've had before and wonder what makes it so much more expensive.

At first my boyfriend thought I was chattering my teeth incredibly fast while I was sleeping. It turns out that sound is the teeth rubbing against the guard making a "chattering" sound! I actually cracked my last one in two places.

[Miranda]

yep... a multiple thousands of $$$ s mouth here...

drugs and a driver...

two things that can help a lot