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| The dentist (Read 409 times) |
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posted: 5/3/2008 at 6:35 AM |
Another person here afraid of the dentist.
I had a bad experience with getting my wisdom teeth extracted and I've been in fear ever since.
Though I recently went to the dentist, first time back in 3-4 years and it actually went really well.
He told me I had no cavities or anything he could do. Just that I had buildup and I should go in for cleanings more often.
I think that's the first time I've been to a dentist and not needed any work done!
I've been flossing and brushing with an electric toothbrush pretty religiously for the last few years and I think that has helped alot. |
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| view log Fakin' it for the camera |
posted: 5/3/2008 at 9:33 PM |
I used to be afraid of the dentist, but not since I went to a very calm dentist who explained EVERYTHING to me, step by step. He put in a dam which eliminated my fear of choking on all the crap they put in my mouth then he would tell me what he was doing, how it will feel and how long it would take. Gave me instructions on what to do if I was uncomfortable plus had a TV in the examining room.
No problems since. I like going to the dentist because I love the feeling of really clean teeth.
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posted: 5/4/2008 at 4:08 AM
modified: 5/4/2008 at 4:34 AM |
| Quote from zoom-zoom on 4/30/2008 at 3:18 PM: There are dentists that do sedation dentistry...I think it involves taking something like valium a little while before you get in the chair--in addition to regular local anesthetic. You'd need to have someone drive you home after your appt., but it's probably well worth looking into.
Its a little more than valium although I did get valium the night before. Not a bad way to do it actually. Morning of take 2 pills then they put a powder under your tongue at the appointment and very little memory of anything after that. You will need someone to drive you home and babysit you for the next 6 hours at least, 24 is better. Google Conscious Sedation dentistry. |
The whole world said I shoulda used red but it looked good to Charlene in John Deere Green!!
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posted: 5/4/2008 at 5:13 AM |
My grandfather was a dentist in the Navy during WW2--he has some great stories about foot pump powered drills that moved at a fraction of the speed modern ones do, and had bits that aren't nearly as hard.
I handled a dental malpractice case a few years back in Appalachia--I won't mention the facts of it, but doing case research for those made me cringe for days. Sometimes when stuff goes wrong, it goes reeeally wrong. |
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| view log ..like a bat out of hell |
posted: 5/4/2008 at 10:19 AM |
I have trouble with dentists too...a history of cavities, infection and problem extraction problems meant my regular detist advising me to use a specialist unit when I needed a wisdom taking out.
They give you a shot that puts you out, get it done and send you on your way..worked a treat. Funny thing was though, it operated something like a production line system, the dentist 'getting through' a good number of patients in the course of a morning, this lead to a recovery room full of guys in various states of consciousness, most of whom start swearing and cursing a la Tourettes as they come round!!! My wife said I was a bad as the worst of them.. |
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posted: 5/4/2008 at 12:38 PM |
My wife fears dentists. I have no fear whatsoever. I actually enjoy as I know the dentist and hygienist for years and like to talk with them twice a year. Obviously, no one is crazy about the drill sound or picking on teeth but it is a mindset.
It is so weird, I get in that dentist chair and my body starts to tingle of relaxation. I think I have a memory system as a young kid getting nitrous oxide (laughing gas) when getting dental work done. That sure made you relax. I still get that relaxed feeling when I hit that chair even without the gas. Most people tell me I am crazy! I am not!  |
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posted: 5/4/2008 at 1:07 PM |
| Quote from r2farm on 5/4/2008 at 4:08 AM: Its a little more than valium although I did get valium the night before. Not a bad way to do it actually. Morning of take 2 pills then they put a powder under your tongue at the appointment and very little memory of anything after that. You will need someone to drive you home and babysit you for the next 6 hours at least, 24 is better. Google Conscious Sedation dentistry.
That's probably similar to what my son had a few years back when he had some oral surgery. What was kind of hilarious is that the oral meds they gave him didn't work (one of them was an amnesic...can't recall what it was. It's one of the common "date rape" drugs and I was along with backroadrunner to an office visit for a pain treatment years ago when she had the stuff--weird. She couldn't remember a thing from the visit, even though she was wide awake). 30 minutes after he took them he was still bouncing around in the chair. I think they eventually had to give him laughing gas--THAT worked like a charm.
For those who are seriously stressed at the dentist, did most of you have bad experiences as kids? I always loved going to the dentist and our family dentist growing up was a friend of the family. Funny, older, grandfatherly guy. He always made us feel very comfortable and safe. My current dentist is very similar. I have had some painful dental experiences--a few years ago I had a bunch of old fillings that needed replacement and drilling those out was unpleasant. Replacing my crown in the front was also not an easy appointment. But I think years of comfortable office visits have made my stress in the chair really low. |
Kirsten
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| view log TRI-HARD |
posted: 5/4/2008 at 2:45 PM |
Quote from Tchuck on 5/4/2008 at 12:38 PM:My wife fears dentists. I have no fear whatsoever. I actually enjoy as I know the dentist and hygienist for years and like to talk with them twice a year. Obviously, no one is crazy about the drill sound or picking on teeth but it is a mindset. It is so weird, I get in that dentist chair and my body starts to tingle of relaxation. I think I have a memory system as a young kid getting nitrous oxide (laughing gas) when getting dental work done. That sure made you relax. I still get that relaxed feeling when I hit that chair even without the gas. Most people tell me I am crazy! I am not!
I have to agree with this. Definatly a mindset. I've had all 4 wisdom teeth pulled, ( one impacted that came out in pieces) and twice annual cleanings and have always been relaxed. ( Uncomfortable at times yes, but generally relaxed.) 40 y/o, and no cavities or fillings  |
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finney Resident pinniped |
posted: 5/6/2008 at 9:35 PM |
Thanks for the empathy/suggestions, all. I'm not sure if sedation dentistry is something I can do - I take some other medications and usually sedatives don't go well with them. Maybe they use different meds now or could work something out, but I was told about 5 years ago that I wasn't a candidate for it. I'll look into it again though.
My experiences as a child weren't necessarily pleasant because I had EXTREMELY crowded teeth, and this was back at the time when they thought serial extractions would fix that (they don't, if any dentist ever tells you that your kid needs teeth pulled before they fall out to prevent crowding, find a different dentist AND an orthodontist because that's what it will come to anyway). I had just about every baby tooth in my mouth pulled rather than it falling out naturally. The thing is, though, those became pretty routine, and baby teeth are easy to pull, so I had a minimum of pain and suffering. I never looked forward to it, but it wasn't horrible either.
It mostly started when I got braces. The ortho that I had was a real jerk. Due to my overbite and crowding, I couldn't have all my brackets put on at once. When I finally did get more (I think I started out with just my 6 top front teeth) he put on way too many, way too tight, way too fast, and I was in HORRIBLE pain the next day. My dad called up - it was an emergency visit - and the ortho was NOT happy. He violently RIPPED the elastics off the brackets and then the brackets off my already screaming teeth with no anesthesia whatsoever. I was screaming and crying the entire time.
From that point on I started to get anxious when I had to go. Then I had that bad extraction as an adult - whole long story associated with that too - and that's what pushed it over the edge. |
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| view log Bloody Nipple |
posted: 5/6/2008 at 9:39 PM
modified: 5/6/2008 at 9:43 PM |
| Quote from finney on 5/6/2008 at 9:35 PM:
It mostly started when I got braces.
An assistant for my first orthodontist broke off part of one of my molars! I shouldn't read post like yours. Flashbacks!
By the way, you interested in trying dry soda?
Send me an address and I'll mail you some.
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posted: 5/6/2008 at 10:39 PM
modified: 5/6/2008 at 10:46 PM |
| Quote from Ennay on 4/30/2008 at 7:23 PM: I hate dental visits also. Last year was the first time in my life that I didnt need follow up work from a visit. I also tend to get sick after a visit, so now I am careful to schedule my visits for AFTER big races.
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Shit. Just had my cleaning this morning, came home blah blah blah...overwhelming need for a nap, woke up and I have a sore throat. EVERY god damn time.
Trying to decide if this is a skip run tonight sore throat or a HTFU sore throat.
MTA Screw it. back to bed I go.....I am not good at HTFU with sore throats. I had one last year where I couldnt eat for 9 days. Getting scary flashbacks. |
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posted: 5/7/2008 at 1:07 PM |
Quote from andytrihard on 5/4/2008 at 2:45 PM:I have to agree with this. Definatly a mindset. I've had all 4 wisdom teeth pulled, ( one impacted that came out in pieces) and twice annual cleanings and have always been relaxed. ( Uncomfortable at times yes, but generally relaxed.) 40 y/o, and no cavities or fillings
Yes, I had my 4 wisdom teeth pulled out without sedation or being put under. Thought it was cool that doc had to brace himself for leverage as he pulled. And the sound of the actually pulling - kind of reminds me of slowly opening a creaky door. I will always remember that.
FYI: My father does not even get the novacaine (freezing) shot when he has fillings drilled. Now, that I could not do. He says, "ah, it hurts a bit". Wow! |
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| view log Bif! Bam! Pow! |
posted: 5/7/2008 at 7:29 PM
modified: 5/7/2008 at 7:30 PM |
| Quote from Tchuck on 5/7/2008 at 1:07 PM: Yes, I had my 4 wisdom teeth pulled out without sedation or being put under. Thought it was cool that doc had to brace himself for leverage as he pulled. And the sound of the actually pulling - kind of reminds me of slowly opening a creaky door. I will always remember that.
FYI: My father does not even get the novacaine (freezing) shot when he has fillings drilled. Now, that I could not do. He says, "ah, it hurts a bit". Wow!
See THIS is probably where my childhood scarring occurred. I have genetically bad teeth. My first visit to the dentist at 6 years old, I had 6 cavities and it spiraled down from there. My mom had her first cavitiy at 25 and her second one right after novocaine became widely available. She had a bad experience with the novocaine and decided it was worse than without novocaine.
I was not allowed to have novocaine for any of my cavities. Not the 6 at 6 or the 2-4 a year every year after that. I distinctly remember at 8 or 9 when I had 2 teeth pulled for abcesses the dentist screaming at my mom that he was NOT going to pull teeth without novocaine - so I got it then but for nothing else.
(I can tell you that for 75% of cavities it hurts a bit and the other 25% hurt a lot)
When I was 14 or 15 for the first time I went to the dentist on my own...just got dropped off. My mom had scared me with horror stories of how bad the shot was. So the first time I still skipped the novocaine. Then the next time the dentist talked me in to it. Sweet sweet novocaine. My mother is lucky she lived through that day.
My wisdom teeth are actually one of my better dental experiences, mine were so impacted I got oral surgery and was put under general anesthesia.
And no ---it isnt just a "mindset" Sorry. |
Beware the Pink Boxing Gloves of DOOM!
"It's not enough to bash in heads, you've got to bash in minds" - Captain Hammer
2008 Goals New PR's in 5K 10K HM, M What now?
I failed the 12 minute run in 11th grade... |
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