Dentist tomorrow -- first time in five years.

[Catshrink]

Help!!! I'm scared!!! I hate the dentist, I'm squeemish, I hate being poked. I hate sitting still. I think I'll ask him for nitrous before I even open my mouth.

Please send good vibes my way!

[Dookus]

1. good luck

I had a dentist who used to give nitrous just for the exams and cleanings. Now I have a dentist who practices "sedation dentistry". For any real work, I'm knocked out. They give you a halcion to take an hour before you show up.... when it's all over, you don't remember a damned thing.

[Catshrink]

4. That's the way I want it, Dookus

I don't want to remember anything!

[Another Bill C.]

2. Don't do that.

I mean don't go 5 years again. Go in every 6 months and get your teeth cleaned. It doesn't hurt and they'll catch gum and tooth problems before they become major. This is really a good investment based on the cost of implants and crowns.

[Catshrink]

6. I know...

a friend of mine guilt-tripped me into going this time. I'm doing it for her. Well, yeah, for me too. Heck, my cat has had her teeth cleaned twice in the past five years!

[noahmijo]

3. You'll probably have to get a deep cleaning

In that event they'll probably give you some local anestetic (sp) which means you're gonna get a shot that is only painful for about a split second and then the area will be instantly numbed up so that they can gouge and scrape and you won't feel a thing.

Toughen up you can take it, c'mon I see that Cubs symbol there I never met a Cubs fan that was a sissy.

[Catshrink]

8. gouge and scrape!!!

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! I don't wanna go!!!!

[Rabrrrrrr]

5. Good luck to you!!

if you hate it that much, I'm just wondering if it might be worth finding a different dentist.

Unless you're just one of those types who hates the dentist no matter who it is, which is entirely possible, and that's okay.

Friend of mine always gets the novocaine shot just to have his teeth cleaned, he hates it so much and is such a weenie. And we went to the same dentist (and of course hygenist), and I never felt any pain during cleanings. Generally it's up to the hygenist and dentist, but sometimes it's up to the individual.

My current dentist I absolutely love - cavities, almost no pain. Even the root canals I had last year were no problem with him. I"ve never had such gentle experiences with a dentist, and this guy was doing far more intensive and invasive work than any other dentist I've had.

So, that was all longwinded, but I wish you luck! I know that, even if you hate going, it's totally - utterly totally - in your best interest to go, and in the long run the pain of the cleanings and good tooth maintenance will far outwiegh the pain you will avoid by having your teeth taken care of. Totally.

[Catshrink]

9. Yep, I'm a weenie.

You described me exactly. Novocaine would be okay.... Nitrous better.

[Zomby Woof]

7. well, by gum!

That's the tooth! You have nothing to worry about. :hi:

[Catshrink]

10. Is that the Zomby-tooth-troof?

I really am scared shitless.

[noahmijo]

11. Dude you'll be fine

It's gonna be more irritating than painful. Also if they find any cavities ask about having them fixed through "air abrasion" it's more expensive, but it's completely painless and the filling is some sort of creamic substance that blends right in with your tooth so it's as if you have no filling at all.

My record of bad dentist visits:

For braces I had to have 4 teeth pulled

I had to undergo a deep cleaning a while back because I too skimped out on dentist visits for about 4 years

I had 2 wisdom teeth slashed out of me while I was awake and I had nothing but novacaine to numb the pain...I do anything I can to avoid being to put to sleep in any situation.

[Zomby Woof]

12. It's the Trooftoothtruth!

I'd bet my partial sunburn on it!

[Catshrink]

13. You wanna know the cure for that?

Salad.

[Zomby Woof]

15. I rubbed ranch dressing on my burns!

Then I bet your sister the waitress would spit in my pie.

[Catshrink]

17. That was a nice looking pie!

mmmmmm pie.

[Career Prole]

14. Ah, it's all so different now!

Even the 'old-fashioned' way with injected local anesthetic is easy, Catshrink. Honest! The needle's tiny now compared to when I was younger, when they used the one that looked like a 3 Stooges prop...that big old stainless steel turkey baster-sized thing with fingerholes and windows and whatnot that clanked against your teefus when they shot you up. The necessary dosage seems to be a lot less with the modern anesthetics, because the shot's done a lot faster too. You barely feel it. My dentist uses this distraction technique (gate theory, I think he called it?) where he pinches my cheek and jiggles it, like dear old Aunt Marie used to do, while he gives the shot. I swear all I notice is the jiggling of my cheek, which he says is the whole point of the exercise. The swabbed-on pre-shot anesthetic seems to be a lot more effective than it used to be, as well as a whole lot better-tasting. If you want a second shot, tell him you don't feel numbed up enough yet. Guaranteed you don't feel the second one.
It's all really a mental battle, cuz the pain's not all that big a deal. I was always the biggest dental sissy in the world. The doc used to joke with my dad about not charging him for the anesthetic because he just had to wave the needle around where I could see it and I'd faint a couple of minutes later. Now I have a little girl who thinks the world of me. She doesn't go to the dentist with me...but I imagine her there. Daddy can't be a wuss with her watching! Gives me instant courage. Got anyone you need to impress like that? It helps. :)
I'll send the serenity vibes anyway, though...no obligation. Take care!

[Catshrink]

16. I hope you're right!

tiny needles might be okay.... but I'm not gonna like it one bit!

[Career Prole]

19. You'll see...slow, even breathing...

...it's really not that bad, honest. That's coming from a former fainter and puker. What your head does to you is a lot worse than what the dentist does to you. If I'm lying you may kick me square in the groin like a Buddhist monk. Deal? :)

[put out]

18. Good vibes, and some ill-informed advice,

Call before and tell them you are absolutely petrified. You must must have a (valium, ativan, antianxiolitic) medicine of some sort to help you through this traumatic experience.

It won't be bad. Just lay on the anxiety stuff.

You'll be fine. And you will feel better when it's done. Particularly with the drugs. Just have someone drive you home.

My turn tomorrow with the dentist. I take a couple of ibuprofen and I have little discomfort. I complain, though, and sometimes get some extra pharmaceutical help.

[Catshrink]

20. I'm leery of drugs I haven't taken before....

I had gum surgery once and the dentist gave me vicodin for the pain. I hallucinated so bad I thought I was at Wrigley Field. Ryne Sandberg hit a triple into the left field corner and I got very upset because they didn't rule it an in-the-park home run (which they had a year before when I actually was at the ballpark!). Then I picked up the remote control and tried to call my mom. I couldn't get a dial tone and I kept losing the Cubs game. It was wild -- I couldn't figure it out. I slept it off and resolved never to use those drugs again.

Nitrous I can handle, the other stuff scares me.

[put out]

21. I didn't mean to be flippant.

You will be just fine. Dentists and their offices are not scary at all. Mine is nifty, everyone is nice.

Sorry to suggest drugs are the way to go; I took lots of stuff when having something major done. I did not hallucinate, but didn't the Chiefs finally win? I'm sure they did that day.

Something small for you anxiety might really help, though.

[Catshrink]

22. I didn't take it that way....

My sister in fact said the same thing. But I have no one to drive me home so, I guess I just need to buck up and get through it.