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I am terrified of injections to the mouth, help?
Hi,
I am 34 years old, I had some major dental work done as well back then before I got braces (pulling 4 permanent teeth.) It was a really bad experience, and ever since then I have an unreasonable fear of the injections dentists give before doing work (such as filling a cavity.) You probably hear this everyday, but I have a injection anywhere except when it comes to my mouth. So, I feel ridiculous telling a dentist this in person, but can anything be done to help with the pain of the injection itself?
Thank you for you enquiry.
You are one of very many people who are ok with injections in general, but find oral injections a problem.
Solutions include hypnotherapy to help overcome your fear and use of intravenous sedation in the hand. However, with modern anaesthetic techniques (such as a device called the wand) and surface anaesthetic creams, a good dentist can give an injection with minimal sensation to the patient. Once you have experienced this you will no doubt gain confidence and with time overcome your fear.
Please do not feel embarrassed about discussing this with your dentist, I am sure you will find that are more than happy to help you- if not find another one.
I hope this us helpful to you, please feel free to contact me again if you have further questions.
Dr Simon Nery
