I've always had a slight fear of the dentist. It started when I was very young (around 5 I think?) when I had to have a filling put in. Back then (well over 20 years ago) they put this HUGE guard thing in your mouth so you didn't bite down on any of the tools or the dentists hand. Well when they placed this guard into my mouth they clamped it down on my tongue and I spent the next hour to two hours gasping for air thinking I was going to choke on my saliva or die from the pain of my tongue being clamped. I was too young to realize I could speak up and say something and from that day forward I DREADED the dentist.
Over the years I learned to just cope. As I got older I figured I would just take REALLY good care of my teeth and that way I could avoid going. Around the age 21 I had a really rough dental assistant that cleaned my teeth like she was scraping away with a brillo pad. It made me hate the dentist even more. From 21 until now (i'm 29) I've only had my teeth cleaned three times. Some may say gross, but the recent cleaning I had (a week ago) the dentist said my teeth looked great and were "very pretty".
Unfortunately one of my molars has had a really crappy filling ever since around the age of 5 and the filling has deteriorated. There was nothing I could to do to avoid it. So the solution??? A root canal........
OH HELL NAW!
I was scared all over again....
At the beginning of the appoinment I was surprisingly calm, thinking "well once they numb me I won't feel anything! I can just sit back and relax and let them do their work..."
BOY WAS I WRONG!
The dentist shot me up with the first two shots of anesthesia (OW) and waited ten minutes to let it go numb. He began drilling and at first I thought I was feeling just small amounts of pain from it. I kept telling myself "it's nothing, it's nothing, it's nothing"
And then BOOM!!!!!!! It's like a bolt of lightning hit me right in the mouth! The shock of pain from the drill hitting the nerve hurt so bad I INSTANTLY kicked, screamed, cried and hyperventilated. I could't even control it. I was sobbing like a child who had just stubbed their toe and didn't understand the pain..... I probably looked like the little girl in this picture...
They had to sit me up and let me catch my breath because I was THAT stunned/hysterical/sobbing.
I couldn't even control the sobs, they just kept coming and coming and coming.
Finally I got it under control and let him give me two more shots of anesthesia. He tried to give one shot directly into the spot that hurt. NOPE!!! Another round of screaming and crying....
He let me calm down again and after a few more minutes he assumed that the 4 shots he'd given so far were sufficient and began trying to drill again.
BOOM!!!!!!!!! I kicked harder, screamed louder and cried longer because the shock of pain was the worst yet. I hyperventilated for a good ten more minutes. I couldn't believe how badly this hurt and how RESISTANT I was to all this anesthesia.
I'd say he gave me another 4-6 shots in the gums, had me chew on a topical anesthesia and waited another 10-15 minutes for the TEN shots he'd given me to soak in. Even after all of this he still gave me shots of anesthesia periodically throughout the whole procedure. This isn't the first time I've needed WAY more anesthesia then a normal person. I guess my body composition is resistant to it?
I was trembling, tense and full of anxiety the rest of the time. I clutched my sleeve and a piece of kleenex so hard for the next hour and a half I'm surprise my hands didnt fall off. Even with 10-15 shots (I lost track) I could still feel small stabs of pain once in awhile. It was TERRIFYING.
So after years of dreading the dentist I now have a full out FEAR and PHOBIA of the dentist. I hope to God I don't need any other extensive work done.
Over the years I learned to just cope. As I got older I figured I would just take REALLY good care of my teeth and that way I could avoid going. Around the age 21 I had a really rough dental assistant that cleaned my teeth like she was scraping away with a brillo pad. It made me hate the dentist even more. From 21 until now (i'm 29) I've only had my teeth cleaned three times. Some may say gross, but the recent cleaning I had (a week ago) the dentist said my teeth looked great and were "very pretty".
Unfortunately one of my molars has had a really crappy filling ever since around the age of 5 and the filling has deteriorated. There was nothing I could to do to avoid it. So the solution??? A root canal........
OH HELL NAW!
I was scared all over again....
At the beginning of the appoinment I was surprisingly calm, thinking "well once they numb me I won't feel anything! I can just sit back and relax and let them do their work..."
BOY WAS I WRONG!
The dentist shot me up with the first two shots of anesthesia (OW) and waited ten minutes to let it go numb. He began drilling and at first I thought I was feeling just small amounts of pain from it. I kept telling myself "it's nothing, it's nothing, it's nothing"
And then BOOM!!!!!!! It's like a bolt of lightning hit me right in the mouth! The shock of pain from the drill hitting the nerve hurt so bad I INSTANTLY kicked, screamed, cried and hyperventilated. I could't even control it. I was sobbing like a child who had just stubbed their toe and didn't understand the pain..... I probably looked like the little girl in this picture...
They had to sit me up and let me catch my breath because I was THAT stunned/hysterical/sobbing.
I couldn't even control the sobs, they just kept coming and coming and coming.
Finally I got it under control and let him give me two more shots of anesthesia. He tried to give one shot directly into the spot that hurt. NOPE!!! Another round of screaming and crying....
He let me calm down again and after a few more minutes he assumed that the 4 shots he'd given so far were sufficient and began trying to drill again.
BOOM!!!!!!!!! I kicked harder, screamed louder and cried longer because the shock of pain was the worst yet. I hyperventilated for a good ten more minutes. I couldn't believe how badly this hurt and how RESISTANT I was to all this anesthesia.
I'd say he gave me another 4-6 shots in the gums, had me chew on a topical anesthesia and waited another 10-15 minutes for the TEN shots he'd given me to soak in. Even after all of this he still gave me shots of anesthesia periodically throughout the whole procedure. This isn't the first time I've needed WAY more anesthesia then a normal person. I guess my body composition is resistant to it?
I was trembling, tense and full of anxiety the rest of the time. I clutched my sleeve and a piece of kleenex so hard for the next hour and a half I'm surprise my hands didnt fall off. Even with 10-15 shots (I lost track) I could still feel small stabs of pain once in awhile. It was TERRIFYING.
So after years of dreading the dentist I now have a full out FEAR and PHOBIA of the dentist. I hope to God I don't need any other extensive work done.
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