Phobic and panicking!! 2

You'll survive it. You just need a worthy dose of anaesthetic and you won't feel a thing. It's also very quick.
But, you do need someone to see you get home safely because you may be woozy for a bit and you don't want to make any bad judgements getting home.

I think it’s true about dental treatment in the Fifties. ,the gas gave you the most awful dreams and was sent to “go” before I was gassed to an outside toilet . it was cold and spidery. I still have a crown that the same dentist did in my teens when I cracked a tooth on a baguette in France. I have awful teeth though as my father said if I had to have glasses( pink nhs sort) he wasn’t going to have a daughter with braces.

It's perfectly normal to have a phobia about dentists, especially for people our age who remember the horrors of dental procedures in the past.

If you tell your dentist how nervous you are, I'm sure he will be able to reassure you. Good luck.

Well done Narnia and Babs -
Best place to be is u dear the blanket

Well done! I hope you can have a good snooze as part of your recovery.

How horrible for you! May I suggest getting some Rescue Remedy, a herbal preparation, taken one or two drops at a time. It won’t stop the panics etc., but should make you more able to cope with the situation.
I often take it if I’m particularly tearful, when going out, or feeling horribly low.
All the best

I DID IT!!
I've jist got back from the hospital, apt was 10 and i was leaving at 10.45
Definitely didn't fall asleep with the sedation but it seemed to be done quick.
Home and in bed now. Thanks everyone x

Good, Babs. Glad it went well and it is true, extraction now is quick and painless, and the abscess has gone..

Just had an extraction of a back tooth this morning, was broken so a bit of a chore but the dentist was lovely, the procedure was quick and painless and am back home now and feeling so relieved.
Was dreading it but am sure your procedure will go equally smoothly.
Wishing you well
🙏🏾❤️❤️

You'll be fine Narnia. Several years ago when my dentist told me I needed an extraction, I burst into tears .

He arranged for me to go to another practice so I could have sedation and everything went well.

Try not to worry .

Having sedation is wonderful! I had it for an extraction a few months ago, and don't remember a thing about the procedure. Apart from not being able to drive home afterwards, there's no problem. It'll be over before you know it!

I used to hate having the nurses jab and rejab my arm to get a needle in to take bloods ... it seems such a silly thing , and I sailed through the chemo and radiation only to become terrified as my veins were collapsing due to all the treatments .

Applegran, thank you i will definitely try that!

Mojack if you read the post the OP explained at 07:43 today.

What do you have appt. for?

I had sedation a while ago for an eye operation. Imagine the most wonderful post- G&T glow, amplified…….look forward to that feeling.

Narnia I do feel for you. A phobia is something very different to the feeling of being scared. But I see you’ve opted for sedation so you will have no recollection of what’s gone on only the feeling of relief when it’s over.
Your dentist will have lots of patients like you, so try not to overthink things. The very best of luck to you. do come back and let us know how you are

What a brilliant message Applegran.
Is it possible that people of our generation can still clearly recall how awful it was going to the dentist 50 or 60 years ago? I know I do. When I go to the dentist, I also feel very anxious. But I remind myself how things have improved... dental techniques, that is., and it is never as bad as I feared it would be. And ultimately, of course, there is a reason why we go- because it is to make things better for us.
Good luck Narnia with trying out some of the helpful advice offered here.

I am sorry you are feeling so very afraid. In case it is any help - here is what I do for root canal work or extractions. I remember that the dentist is an expert and I can trust them. I breathe. I then go for a walk in a beautiful place I know well - in my mind's eye. I take my time on the walk and notice things like the bench I pass, or a place with flowers in the grass. It really does work - you could start on your walk in the waiting room. If a country walk does not work for you, then choose something else like going round a supermarket you know, or up and down your street......or anywhere you know well. Much of your brain is involved with visual things and this works because it can't keep panicking at the same time as visualising this walk.

Might I suggest you make an appointment with a good hypnotherapist prior to your dental appt if its possible.
A good hypnotherapist will help you with this fear. They can tackle most fears and phobias and will suggest a coping mechanism too.

Maybe try bachs rescue remedy, you just spray it in your mouth to calm you down, or breathing techniques,also try to focus your mind on a happy occasion in the past. I always take my kindle with me when I’m in a waiting room takes your mind of things.

The first thing I would say is to stop worrying about "making a fool of yourself in front of others". Everyone else will be thinking about themselves and not notice you, and if you do have a wobble in public, so what? You're not likely to see any of these people ever again so it doesn't matter what they think.
A lot of your stress will go if you can stop caring about this.
I've suffered from anxiety most of my life and I have ALWAYS found that the anticipation is much worse than the reality. Trust me, you will be able to walk from the waiting room to the surgery.

Hi, sorry i thought the original post was still visible.
Yes it's the dentist. I'm having sedation at the hospital not my own dentist.
2 extractions, one has given me jip for over a year with infections, the other isn't a problem but needs a filling. As it's at the back of my mouth and my gag reflex is very bad, they decided to just remove that too.
I've waited a year for the appointment and it has been on my mind every single day!

Yes, I too think it’s a dental problem. I think the dentist said he/she couldn’t save her teeth - I think it was her front teeth..
Now, I could be totally wrong.
Narmia do cone back and tell us how you got on

I suspect that most people have at least some anxiety when a dentist is probing around in their mouths. It's an atavistic response because it is the one place that does not protect the brain.