petrified of dentist help.

[ricky13]

hi any reassurance would be great. i suffer from bad panic attacks and derealisation and i got to go dentist on tuesday and have two teeth out does it hurt im so scared and they put a needle in your mouth which im petrified of. please any advice or knowledge would be very good. x

[nomorepanic]

Have you read this it may help:

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/articles/dental/

[ricky13]

thank you will read it now. x

[jess14615]

I was an assistant for oral surgeon, and if you call them up ahead of time and tell them of you anxietys, they should prescribe you a sedative. And they can also put you under or laughing gas, which you are awake but really have no clue whats going on. Best of luck!

[Ingenious]

Nicola thanks for posting that link, I have been putting off going to the dentist's for quite some time and it has been useful.

[Rennie1989]

Hiya Ricky

I am uber scared of dentists, almost phobic, and they told me that I needed all my wisdom teeth out ths year. I... was.... PETRIFIED! No matter how much research I did about it on the internet it did not relieve my worries. Funnily enough it was the general anaesthetic that scared me more then the pain.

When you have your teeth out they will completely numb your mouth, and I mean completely. You will not feel a thing. When they take the teeth out it will barely take a few seconds per tooth. I remember having two teeth out for my braces over 10 years ago and, despite the fear, it was over and done with very quickly, even the gums heal quickly.

Do what I do, I bring a teddy with me. It sounds silly but if I feel uncomfortable I give it a squeeze. But I'm a person who likes things on my lap when sitting down so it satisfies that. Also, take a deep breath.

Do remember to tell the dentist you suffer from panic attacks. They are really calming and great with you when you tell them, I told mine and he was very patient with me.

[grotbags]

I don't mind the dentist too much because it's one of those places where you can say you're scared and they don't judge you for it, because dental phobia is so common and widespread. For example, if I was in a supermarket and told people in there I was scared of supermarkets, they'd probably think it was weird. But the dentist? So many people are nervous about the dentist.

When I was housebound I couldn't get dental treatment for years, and I lost a tooth because of it. That really upset me. I do find that the injections don't really hurt. When they give an injection, concentrate on your feet (mentally) and it does help to distract. I think you'll be fine if you go ahead. Agoraphobics can cope with so much because we have to cope with so much every day :) It might not seem like it, but I truly believe we're braver than most people, because we HAVE to be, and we've learnt to be.