Does It Traumatize You?

[d's girl]

....a visit to the dentist, I mean.

 

It does me. I've had some bad dental experiences & it's made me anxious & uncomfortable about going to the dentist. So my solution has been not to go. For years at a time. I decided to try & get a handle on that & return to the one dentist I really liked. Years ago I used to drive across town to see him. Then I moved out of state for several years. Now that I'm back, I actually only live about 5 minutes from his office!

So, I went for the initial appt. & X-rays a couple weeks ago. I was anxious, but did okay. But.... as feared, I needed this involved procedure that I've had done 2 previous times over the years - both by Periodontists, and both very uncomfortable experiences that contributed to my dental-work-phobia.

This time, it was scheduled w/the hygienist right at my dentist's office, instead of w/a Periodontist, and they've scheduled it to be done in quadrants, instead of all at once. AND... no shots this time. They gave me literally dozens of shots the other times I had this done. That alone was awful.

So.... today was the first one. mr. hottie informed me yesterday, w/out my asking (I'm too independent & self-sufficient to ask for something like that) that he was going w/me. And that he was even going into the ROOM w/me while I had the procedure done. Wow. Well, he did. It was kind of weird, but it WAS comforting. And it went okay! Yay! 

 

So, tell us... what are you afraid of? The Dentist? Needles? A Colonoscopy? 

Does your fear keep you from taking care of yourself? 

How do you face your fear & get through it? Or don't you?

[d's girl]

See?! They're horrible people!

[CWO3ROBBIE]

I think you girls would fit right in with the West Virginia Crowd. "Pull em All" seems to be a very popular dental procedure there.

[d's girl]

hey!! ;-p

[Goldilocks46]

I am afraid of any invasive procedure.  Finally decided to get a colonoscopy in 2009 after considering my family history, but was still terrified. 

[caseyjo]

I had great teeth with a few fillings in my early 40's until a dentist wanting to make money off me told me I needed to have my fillings taken out & new ones put in....Well, They drilled so much of my own teeth away trying to get the great solid fillings out, that my real teeth wouldn't hold the new fillings for very long & I kept having to go get new fillings.... That same dentist said my tongue was in the way so she put some numbing stuff on a cotton & stuck it under my tongue & burnt the hell out of the inside of my mouth.......Imagine all that...Then I had to get caps....What a nightmare & lawyers told me it was too difficult to sue dentists & the ones I talked to didnt want to try so I gave up....

So a different dentist made me caps, but they were not the right size so he drilled my own teeth including a eye tooth down so his stupid caps would fit & it knocked my whole bite off....now its uncomfortable for me to close my mouth..I have to pull my jaw back.....Talked to more lawyers & the same thing...They dont want to mess with the dentists...

Another time a dentist put my face to sleep & I could not blink...I had to take my eyelids & push them up & down with my fingers untill the stuff wore off.

I will never set foot in a dentist office unless it is a emergency.....

When it comes to needles...They dont bother me at all

Colonoscopy....once they put you out, you dont even remember it happened.

[caseyjo]

BTW...All that started because I went in for a cleaning.....WTF?

[Bob Stepp]

Lawyers afraid of dentists??? Maybe the dentists have a better lobby.

[Jaylee53]

You guys have successfully scared the crap out of me....literally.   I'm off to the dentist this week.   I still think I'm more afraid of the price tag than the procedure.

As for the rest of the info posted here.......TMI!!!!!!  Unless you want to hear 'bout birthing babies....then I've got some dandies for you.

[caseyjo]

I tell my story..not to scare people, but to let people know some of the things to watch for..I will still go to the dentist, but I communicate what I want before starting...I now ask for small amounts of numbing stuff at a time..I am a small woman. I dont need as much numbing stuff as a larger person..A child size shot is good for me...I have a small head. I dont let dentists drill on anything I dont think they should be drilling on either....If they have to make new caps so be it...Take the extra time & have them make new caps if the first ones they make dont fit right.

FYI......Not having to do with dentistry....Just something I heard that is good to know.

On Dr. OZ I heard him say that people under a certain weight do not need to drink as much of that stuff (barium?) they give you before certain Cat scans..Small people can ask for less he said..Dr's dont usually tell their patients so it is good if you are small to bring attention to that fact...Ask for less for your weight...That stuff made me sick last time. If I only knew I could have asked for less.