Need to go to dentist. Pregnant and terrified!

[misslove]

I haven't been to the dentist in like 5 years. I know hope important is is to go to the dentist during pregnancy. But I'm genuily terrified. I'm afraid that I'm going to be nervous I'll throw up all over the girl cleaning my teeth. And now to make it worse I found a tiny red spot in my cheek. It's so high up it's not from being bitten. I have a horrible gag reflex as it is and I hate people in my mouth. Every aspect of going to the dentist scares me so much. I'm keep putting off just making an appt cause that alone scares me.but as for now the bump in my cheek has me on high alert because it's slightly torn up maybe I scraped it with my tooth brush or something but I'm worried it's some mouth sore or something :/

[MyNameIsTerry]

I have a horrible gag reflex as it is and I hate people in my mouth./

I daren't ask about that one...:winks::noangel:

Well, I think a lot of us will understand you on this one - who isn't worried at the least going to see them?!!! I broke one of my wisdom teeth just after my relapse and had to go through several appointments until the dreaded day for the removal came (infection was being treated before and having basic checks as it was a new surgery for me) and I bottled it the first time as I barely slept and felt terrible. My anxiety was really bad then. The next time I stuck to it and it wasn't as bad as I thought. It was a difficult extraction and I needed a couple of shots of the anaesthetic and felt a bit odd afterwards, some of which would be the anxiety washing me out.

I found the best thing, other than gripping the arms on the chair, was to focus intently on the ceiling light and regulate my breathing. The focussing thing is a distraction technique and it did help me get through it.

My advice would be to tell them how you feel. They see anxious people in there all day long and I find the staff in these places, and dentists, tend to be very compassionate and understanding...more so than doctors I find! I guess they are more used to it than our GP's as they see it all the time.

When I joined the surgery I had to fill in forms which asked about any mental health problems. So, I filled in about my GAD. The dentist asked a bit about this and they checked their records each time because they would ask if I was ok throughout. I can't fault them, they were brilliant.

When the big day came he said to hold up my hand if I needed him to stop for a second. I did once, he was fine with it all. I only did that as I was trying to swallow. He didn't mind. He had a very good bedside manner and so did the female dentist who he was covering for (she was heavily pregnant when I joined).

So, have a word with them. They have lots of experience with anxiety and need to know how to help people through otherwise they wouldn't be able to run these places properly. I was open with the lady I called to cancel and she was fine about it. They understand.

[LittleMissAlone]

Yes, tell them. Dentist phobia is very common, many people don't go at all. I used to work typing maxilifacial letters, hospital dept for teeth and mouth. Many people wait until they've no teeth, only roots, and they need properly sorting out. I don't even look inside my mouth, but if I saw a tiny red spot I'd think nothing of it.

I've got a check up today too, not worried, you're in and out in 10 mins. :)