dentist phobia

[holly;]

i'd never been really scared of the dentist, i didn't like going but i tend to have to go a lot for fillings/replacing fillings because i grind my teeth in my sleep and bits of my teeth literally chip off or crumble away because of it; i can't stop myself either. when i had my braces taken off around 3/4years ago the bloke who did it was less than careful, my teeth were weaker than usual because i grind my teeth but he just yanked it all of, i had finger mark bruises on my cheeks for 2weeks afterwards and chipped teeth/fillings galore. since going to the dentist to fix this and sitting in the chair for around 45minutes either side on 2 separate occasions it has put the fear of god in me.

just before christmas a bit of filling had crumbled off while i was eating but not come out completely but over time i now have lost basically all my filling and yesterday the toothache started ): it's not constant pain but i cannot eat on that side. today abit of one of my other teeth chipped off where it's cracked from grinding my teeth so now i really do need to go to the dentist.

i'm close to tears thinking about it, i really do have a phobia of the dentist since the incident 3/4years ago.. any words of wisdom on how to cope with sitting through fillings ? one will be on the left and one on the right so will be done on separate occasions due to numbing only one side of my mouth not my whole mouth.

any ideas ?

 

[kellyandbump]

Hi I know how you feel I am terrified of going to the dentist. I am not sure where you live but they have opened a special dentist near me in Burscough that specialises in nervous people, you can even be put to sleep for any dental work. Fab for me as I couldn't do it awake. They also take referrals from other dentists in the area. Maybe worth having a word with your dentist and seeing if there is something similar near you or if you live in my area I can give you the number for mine.

Kelly

 

[heles7]

you could ask about being sedated although for me the needles in the mouth is the worst part and they wanted to do that first to give it chance to kick in before administering the sedative

the last places I've been too haven't let me be sedated although I got by without a filling for about six years until just lately I needed a root canal and was supprised by how pain free it was and how well i coped with it all. I got through it drawing on a lot of deep breathing which yoga has helped me with and focusing on something else which reading the birthing hypnotherapy book helped me with. Could you try hypnosis to get you through it?

Also, talk through your fear with the dentist. Explain exactly which bits frighten you most. Mine was so helpful this time that I'm actually going to cry if she tries to leave.

Good luck xx