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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
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.
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!
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.
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
Glad to hear it went ok! :)
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).
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 :)
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 :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Zen
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. :)
The last time I got nitrous I was sitting in the chair laughing at my own thoughts.
I had never had nitrous before.
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.
No kidding! That's bizarre. I'd start looking asap to address this very issueQuote:
Originally Posted by Blueberry
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.