Phobia of the dentist?

Question

I have been going to the dentist since I was little. I was always uncomfortable about it but could still go. I'm 19 yrs old now and it seems that within the last 2 years or less I have developed a phobia? of the dentist (only getting fillings though, teeth cleaning isn't as bad). Whenever I go to the dentist, I don't seem to get very numb and when he starts to drill out my tooth it's SOO painful! Its like non-stop pain while he's doing the work even after he gives me like 7 shots! Ive heard how some dentists put you under to do the work but thats out of the question for me because its more money I dont have.

Ive had appointments but cancelled every one because the week before the appointment I would get nervous, shake, be on the verge of tears, the painful drilling is all I could think about. I did switch to a new dentist and this Thursday is going to be my first appointment with him...do you think this might help with my fear..trying a different dentist because ive had the same one for 19 years?

My family members think im overreacting and being very childish about it all because they have never had problems at this dentist. They always say "you were fine all these years what's so different now?" It makes me feel kinda of stupid but there is nothing I can do about it, I cant change the way I feel....

Does anyone have this same fear?

What should I do to make going to the dentist easier?!

Is there anything I can do beforehand to make the experience less painful?

please help

Answer 1

Hi! Dentist work just kind of hurts, no matter what. But on top of that your fear is making it worse than it actually is!

Want to know how I know?! I am EXACTLY the same way!

What you need to do is call your dentist and tell them you are far too nervous about it, and you would like something to take before coming in. I get a perscription for valium everytime before I go in and take 2 and  I could really care less, lol

But believe me it is common, so don't feel badly about asking!

Good luck :D

Answer 2

i am scared of the dentist to

getting a new dentist doesnt help

i tried

Answer 3

i have the same thing, i just breathe in and out and think about being somewhere else and just get it done with before all my teeth fall out

Answer 4

dont worry ur not overreacting or being childish. most people have phobias. my mother is terrified of the dentist and im im the middle of training to become one so i know how u r feeling. the pain u feel is probably nothing to do with the actual preparation of the filling and is probably just because u hav urself so convinced it will hurt that ur brain tells u its hurting. changing to a different dentist might work.

i would tell the dentist u r very anxious when it comes to fillings and ask him would he make sure the anaesthetic has worked first b4 drilling by touching around the tooth with a probe. then let him run the drill outside of ur mouth for a min so u get used to the sound. then have him run it inside of ur mouth but not touching ur teeth. once ur ok with that have him drill for 10secs and then stop and make sure u r ok and then drill for another 10secs.

ask him if he would stop when u raise ur hand to say its painful. that way u know that if it is painful u dont hav to sit all the way through it.

My best advice is to start doing square numbers in ur head to keep ur mind occupied an really concentrate on the square numbers. for example, 2x2=4  4x4=16 16x16=????

make sure and tell the dentist though and dont be ashamed of saying ur anxious. most people r

one more thing. i take it ur in the states and the dentists use novocaine? u could ask the dentist to try lignocaine....the stuff we use in the uk

hope this helps

Answer 5

talk about this problem with your dentist. Some people need more time for Novocaine to numb their mouth and others need something other than novocaine. Don't let the past problems build into problems with future teeth.There are ways to have no initial pain.

Answer 6

Go to a dentist that practises sleep dentistry, they put you to sleep and do any thing that is requried while you sleep,I personally stopped being afraid  when I started  to go every month,I wish now that I had done that a long time ago.Keeps teeth in good health and any thing that is wrong gets picked up before  any thing gets out of hand.

Answer 7

If you're really nervous and excitable, it can actually make it more difficult to freeze you up. If you want to continue to go to this dentist, discuss with him the possibility of getting a sedative before each appointment. It will relax you so that you don't care about anything plus make it easier for the freezing to take effect.