Expert answers
We know how daunting dental treatment can be. Our Dental Phobia certified experts are here to help ease your mind before treatment by answering your questions.
I haven’t been to the dentist in 15 years
Hi, I hope you can help me!
It had been 15 years since I ran away from the dentist, it has also been 13 years since I have eaten any food on the right hand side of my mouth.I have forgotten what life is like without having toothache.Finally while at work an abscess burst and needed to go to see a dentist.I fainted, rushed to doctors who told me I had taken a panic attack.After going back to see the dentist with gentle persuasion from my better half (stood in front of the door so I couldn’t escape) the dentist agreed that my phobia was in the extreme and she referred me to the hospital.
Today was my appointment, was very nervous (understated) had x ray and the consultant explained that i needed to have a lot of teeth pulled, I told him that I need to have them all taken away, simply because I will not ever return to the dentist if the remaining teeth are left and I would be back at square one.To have no teeth at all for me personally would be life changing like you cannot imagine.To have waited fifteen years to pluck up the courage to even go there and be told that no we wont take them all out has left me feeling very upset.After a lengthy lecture on how expensive a general is and they don’t normally do this, and having to refuse sedation three times (i could never do it) he agreed to allow me to go under general, and insisted that it would be up to the surgeon on the day to decide if the rest can go!I was standing in the corner of the room so the extent of my fear was plain to see and somewhat embarrassingly so for myself.
Is there anything I can do to ensure they extract all of them? Perhaps speaking to my dentist? could she help…….I am in serious need of advice….thank you so much for taking the time to read my plea.
Hello
The good thing to come out of all this is that they have agreed to give you a General Anaesthetic . The cost of this is nothing to do with you and should not have been mentioned as a factor . You need this.
I think that you need to be assertive and make sure that it is agreed that you will have all your teeth out while under the GA .
I haven’t seen your teeth , but sometimes if someone has healthy teeth as well as bad ones , dentists are reluctant to remove the good ones . They are seeing this from a dentists perspective and may not realise the depth of phobia that you have .
Do you have any plans for replacement teeth ?
I suggest you ask your dentist who sounds as if she does understand to help you achieve what you want .
