Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire OH, GAWD help me.....(dentist phobes unite, PLEASE).......

I hate 'em. Nothing personal! I hate 'em all.

I lost a filling a lot of years ago, and because of my hatred/fear for dentists I didn't go to get it fixed. A year or so later, the exposed nerve was driving me nuts, and the pain was enough to make tears come to my eyes. I was stationed in a remote village about 4 hours away from the nearest dentist -- just about close enough for me.

This old public health nurse that used to be a paramendic in the army came to town on his regular tour, and so I talked to him. He looked at the tooth, and say, "It's gotta come out. I pull teeth - used to do it in the army all the time - even got all the tools." So, he's NOT a dentist, okay, so I give him the go ahead.

Sister, the pain that man caused me that day was enough to near give me a death wish. I had to travel the four hours to get the oral surgeon - a fancy name for a dentist that charges more, so he thinks he has to hurt you more - to finish the job.

Now I am REALLY scared of dentists, and I lose another filling a few years later. I guess I was stupid to expect different results from the same action (NO action) on my part, but the pain got unbearable again, so my wife makes an appointment for me to visit the dentist. I'm on dayshift working in uniform as a police officer -- you know -- the tough cop routine --YA RIGHT!

I get in the chair and he looks at the tooth and says it's so far gone, it has to come out, there's no fixing it. Did I say that I HATE needles? Like pass out from fear at the sight of a needle?

So the Doc gets the numbing agent on the gums and then starts fiddling with the hypo, and just about the time he goes to lift the hypo to my mouth, I grab his hand REAL hard, and stop him. Ilook him in the eye and say, "Doc, you've got a needle, and I've got a gun, and we're not gonna hurt each other here, are we?"

He laughed so hard that I started laughing to. I told him I usually pass out from needles. He told me I wouldn't if I kept breathing. REVELATION -- you have to breath to stay conscious!

I spent 16 hours in that chair in the next four days and spent a small fortune -- thank God for benefit packages! We actually became not bad friends. I still HATE him, and he knows it, but he took the fear factor away.

A little side note:

Did you know that dentists have the highest suicide rate of any professional? Guess they hate having to hurt folks all the time too.

Go get the tooth fixed. Breathe in -- Breathe out! You'll do fine.

If it were me I'd rather be her proctologist than your dentist.

I'm with ya gal. My dentist is my cousin. I go when the pain is bad enough that 4 tylenol won't do it, and I need antibiotics.

I don't mind the office. I HATE the drill and the xrays. I hate the polisher. I take vicodin before I go. I should take valium but probably would never make the 30 minute drive. I carry earplugs before we get to drilling. Helps a bit. Also he knows how I feel and only drills a bit at a time. Once I draw my knees into my chest we stop and "rest" a bit.

As a matter of fact, 830 tommorrow I have another appt....

The rest of it I dont' mind at all. I often watch him put fillings in with a mirror etc.... But that drill... wow.

I'm with the others. Call the dentist and tell them, they'll prescribe. BTW last time I had him use a rubber block to hold my mouth open. Made a difference. I also like music and especially NOS, laughing gas, that gas makes TONS of difference. But my cousin doesn't use it....wish he did.... if you can get... hell if I ever have to use another dentist, I won't stop till I find it again.....

Jeff

Well, heck--that's an easy one. There's no reason you have to be trapped in the chair. If your dentist is worth the paper his diploma is printed on, and you explain your situation to him, he'll be glad to back off from time to time and say, "Okay, that part's done...you wanna get up and walk around a bit before we go on?"

My guess is, you'll actually get up and walk around once, just to prove to yourself that you can, and after that just the knowledge will be enough for you, and you'll be much more comfortable staying in the chair.

Two more things, then I'll shut up.

One thing I find myself doing sometimes in the chair is tensing up, until my body is as rigid as a board, without noticing. Maybe you too. Keep an eye out for that, and when you find it, force your body to relax and sink into the chair, no matter what he's doing to your mouth at the time. You'll probably get distracted and tense up again before long, but the relaxing part helps anyway: really.

Second: Penny doesn't just have a doctorate degree in teaching modern foreign languages: she also has one in being a dental patient. She's spent more time in a chair than most of us have. Talk to her: she'll have wisdom for you.

[quote=1akhunter]the only thing you have to fear is fear itself, or that dentist slipping with the drill and going right through your gum and cheek! (grin)

....or slipping and all of a sudden having them stitching up your tongue...

uuugh SORRY that couldn't of helped...I don't care for dentists either....but in the long run it is better to have it taken care of now over waiting til it's really bad...

Looks like you're headed for a crown.. No biggie. Dentists today have SO many more tools/techniques available that going to one is not much worse than taking a nap..

Since you're a female, all they have to do is hand you a cell phone and your mouth will be open for hours...

Hey it not bad it's actually enjoyable if he'll give ya a little Nitrous gas!

The comedian Shelly Berman had a line about going to the dentist that went like this:

"I had to go to the dentist and feared the pain but then I remembered the novocaine, what I forgot was the pain of getting the novocaine!"

Easy solution. Just wait until the pain from the cracked, infected, and rotting tooth overcomes your fear. Then you'll LOVE the dentist!

Here's a tip that works. Take a tape player with a set of earphones, Walkman, or whatever they call them now. Put it on as soon as possible, and keep the volumn high so you can't hear all those noises they make.

It's really a working solution. Part of the fear (and I hate them too) is in the sounds, and with the distraction and a little gas, it doesn't have to be so painful. Or, painful at all.

Oh wow, dude, and like, don't forget the really vibrant colors and out of body experience! The headphones are a great idea, especially if you listen to stuff like the Grateful Dead or Phish.

Not sure why, but every time I go to the dentist I always pig out on pizza and Hostess Twinkies afterwards.

I always treat my self after a dentist visit. Usually hit Bob Baumhauer's Wings restaurant and have the chicken lip lunch platter (hot teriyaki please) & a mess of fries. It's a reward for being brave.

Best of luck, HG. Probably won't be as bad as you think it will. Things rarely are

When I was a kid, my Mom would always take me for an ice cream cone afterwards.

Yes, I grew up in the days before fluoride treatments or sugar substitutes. As a kid, I was always chewing bubble gum and drinking soft drinks or Kool Ade with sugar. It wasn't unusual for me to go to the dentist for my 6-month checkup and have 10 cavities.

As Barak says, I have put in a lot of time in dentists' chairs. I have had root canals, extractions, and implants. Just about anything that can be done for a tooth I've had done.

You will probably have a root canal. I actually find them not nearly so bad as having a tooth filled... less drilling. Several times I have almost fallen asleep in the dentist's chair during a root canal. I couldn't feel anything, I closed my eyes to keep the water from the drill from getting in my eyes, there was soft music playing, and I was practically lying on my back in the chair... what would anyone have done?

The pain of the novacaine needle (if there IS any pain... often there is not) is over in a minute, tops. After that, there's no pain. So relax and look forward to being rid of that cracked tooth. Getting it taken care of now will save you from worse problems later.

Penny

Or that four lettered word we all hate to hear from a dentist or surgeon -- OOPS!

Man up........

There was all of this talk earlier on about proctologist and such. I guess as long as the proc doesn't do his thing, and then try to examine your mouth with the same gloves on, it's not too bad...
I dislike dentists chairs as well (bad times as a child). I had a root canal a few years ago, and Penny is right, it wasn't as bad as some cleanings I have had.

You'll do good HG.

Just go to a happy place....

Gene's loud music through headphones suggestion is a good one. When I was broke, I got dental work done at an experimental/med school clinic. For one project they had me listen to loud bass music through headphones, and it seems much less unpleasant than should have been expected.

Dentists don't bother me, but I ain't ascared of snakes nor spideys for that matter.

As mentioned, talk to the dentist ahead of time. They deal with dentophobes all the time. (S)he will work with you to allay your fears, and if they don't move on down the line.

Nitrous oxide is your friend or so I've heard - I get novocaine and have him get to work. With NO2, you won't know what's going on, and if you do, you won't care!

If he's going, have him take a little blue pill before you get there. It'll give you someting to grab on to.

That nitrous is a good gig!
I been banned from my dentist's office.