Meltdown at the dentist

[Kiwi]

The BF and I both had appointments at the dentist today, poor BF hasn't been to one in 5 years and had to have a root canal and a crown along with some fillings. He came out looking tired, sore and puffy but okay. He has to go back twice more as the dentist won't work on you for more than an hour.

Then it was my turn, we both had a check-up/cleaning last week and the dentist told me I was totally golden apart from one tooth on my left side were the root was exposed. That needed a cap to cover the part of the root that was exposed so it would stop being sensitive (I also got told off for brushing so hard).

Fast froward to today, I get in the chair and his assistant says "so 5 fillings today then" and I blink at her and then ask her to check she has the right file, she checks... its correct.

WTF????????

During the check up the dentist mentioned that in some of the deepest parts of my teeth I have some slight staining because the tooth brush can't quite clean and I might need to have them sealed in the future. He not once mentioned any cavities.

So I start to freak out, I start crying and hyperventilating because holy fuck I go from "golden" teeth to 5 fillings in all of 10 seconds. The assistant looks stricken and says "I'll get the dentist" and scurrys off, when the dentist appears I am in full out panic attack mode and through my pathetic sobs and hiccups I get out that "not once did anyone say I needed FILLING OMGWTF ELEVNTY!!!!!!!!!"

He explains that I am not getting any fillings, he is going to clean the stains out of the grooves and then cap the tooth so no cavities can develop. The assistant apologises and says she used the wrong word but by now I have worked myself up into such a panic I can barely breathe. He asks if the receptionists mentioned what the appointment today was for and I tell him the only thing they mentioned was the sensitive tooth cap for the exposed root. I go to a dentist that specialises in anxious patients and he said they should have explained exactly what to expect blah blah blah so should he last time he saw me and he is very sorry and we can reschedule no charge, don't worry about it, it won't hurt blah blah blah.

Not much use to me now buddy I am blubbering like a 3 year old who lost their balloon. I finally calm myself down and take my asthma medication and they start work but I was shaking and crying so badly that they only got 3 of the 5 done. So now I get to go back NEXT week for the other to....GREAT!

I also have to miss my singing group tonight because I am still fucking frozen to kingdom come when I was told it would be a simple 20 minute procedure with no need for numbing.

ARGH I can't believe I have to go back!

[BookstoreEscapee]

That sucks

I was at the dentist 3 times recently...two for a crown (and a second filling that was not planned but it was on the same side so he did it then) then my regular checkup. And I had to get three shots before he could drill the tooth for the crown. He said if the third shot didn't do the trick he would seal the cut he'd already made and have me come back another day! Noooo! Luckily the third time worked and I was able to get through it.

Had a similar situation when I was 18 and freaked out a bit. At least my mom was with me cuz I was too worked up to drive home.

[Lace Neil Singer]

That was me when one of my wisdom teeth was growing out sideways from the gum, and my dentist mentioned that it would have to come out.

NOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Dentist attempts to calm me down, saying that we'll see how it goes.

As it happens, the wisdom tooth eventually corrected itself and now is straighter; only gives me a little trouble sometimes rubbing against my cheek.

[RavenStarr]

I have severe dental phobia so I know how you feel Kiwi.

[Chrismor]

I started off with severe dental phobia, until a cycling accident where I hit the side of a car... face first.

One tooth fractured into the gum, leaving a section of nerve sticking out of the tooth.

Cue emergency root canal and a temporary crown. The first part of a year of nearly constant treatment.

Needless to say, at this point, I can tolerate dentists quite well. I was not given much choice.

C.

[MsCrankypants]

Ow ow ow ow...my teeth are twinging in sympathy.

I hate going to the dentist, but ever since I had 2 of my wisdom teeth out (the other 2 have to come out eventually, but I haven't gotten around to it just yet), I'm a little more zen about the whole thing. I have a pretty high pain threshold, so that helps, but I hate people futzing around in my mouth while I'm fully conscious. Knocked out, not so much of a problem.

I still hate going because back when I was a teen and poor working-stiff twentysomething, I went to this dentist who, despite knowing his dentist stuff quite well, was the slowest. Dentist. Ever. Even a routine exam, x-ray and cleaning took 2 hours, and (insert deity of choice here) help you if you needed something more extensive. I once spent FOUR HOURS at the dentist's, between my routine 6-month checkup and a couple of fillings I needed redone. Two of those four hours were actually past regular closing hours. You may not be surprised to find out that was the last time I went to him, even though I liked him fairly well.

He was a small-town dentist with a small private practice, open limited hours due to his professorial duties at a couple of prestigious dentistry schools in our area, but the reason I kept going to him for so long was that he was local, he did really good work, he knew my family quite well, and on top of that, he worked out payment plans for people without dental insurance (my mom didn't have dental through her work when I was a kid, and when I started working I didn't have dental until I got better jobs later on). My mom and my brother still go to him, even though both live where I do now (still in the region, but a good 45 minutes from our hometown). I don't have the patience or the time for appointments that would easily take up half my work day for routine matters of dental health.