February 12, 2014

  • I can show my pearly whites now with pride!

    So, as many of you know I've had major fears over dentists for years. Yes, I feared them so much that I neglected to go for years. Eventually, it took its toll on my mouth and I started to notice it. I lived with it for a while and finally I just got sick of it and I put my foot down and said that we were ALL going to go to the dentist to get checked out and get what work done that needed to be done.

     

    Its been a long journey to say the least. My husband knew my fears and we were going back and forth on how to get me over my anxiety. It was his idea over the summer that I should go in with our daughter and observe her cleaning. So, he set her up with an appointment over the summer and I sat in on her cleaning. Now, I had a list of five dentists at the time that I researched. Two different sets of dentists as well- one for us adults and one for us kids. Turns out the second one on my list for the kids dentist was the jackpot since it was a family dentist. Logan made the appointment happily and he even asked a few questions himself about the dentist and whatnot. She went to her first appointment right before the fourth of July. I liked the office to me it was set up like a hair salon. The hygienist's were nice and friendly. It was also very obvious they were all trained on how to deal with kids. My daughter was a bit nervous but they helped her every step of the way and described stuff to her in terms she could understand for her age. I was pretty much sold on this dentist after my daughters first visit. I then met with the dentist who was friendly and not once was I made to feel bad for not having dental insurance for a long while. Anyways, all in all I went with my daughter to a total two other appointments where she had work done. After her first appointment where she had work done I was for sure that I had to do this for myself and for real, so my husband set me up with an appointment.

     

    I had my first appointment before my daughters second appointment, so I knew what was going to go on but of course, me fearing dentists did have a nervous breakdown even though they weren't even putting any instruments in my mouth. In fact, my husband was in the room too for moral support and yet, I did still have my meltdown. So yeah, that got me labeled as a high anxiety patient and go figure, the dentist I selected happens to be the one in the office that deals with people like me. Anyways, after my daughters second appointment I got to go in and get the damage on my mouth. Oddly enough, it wasn't as much sticker shock as I was expecting.

    So, on with the story: I had my work set up for after the holidays. I had a few prescriptions I had to take since I was the lucky winner of a mouth infection. The first appointment was by far the worst wait. It was mostly because I didn't know what was going to happen or how much pain I was going to be in after the fact. Seriously, I got a whole lot of pain killers and I automatically assumed that was a sign of how much pain I was going to be. I made it to the first appointment even though I wanted to run. Yes, my heart rate was too high and they couldn't do anything at first. My dentist was more than understanding, she got me calm down and they went to work.

     

    It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Of course, I still hate the numb face feeling but then again my daughter hates it too. It was a lot of tugging, poking, scraping but all in all it wasn't THAT bad. I had my laughing gas and I had my music. The music helped immensely and I do have to say, if you fear dentists the laughing gas is the best 50 dollars you will ever spend. Sure, most insurance companies won't cover it for adults but trust me, its worth it. It'll calm you down and you keep you in the chair and even at some points it'll make the entire experience funny. Anyways, the dentist explained every step to me along the way. At one point the dentist and the hygienist did a happy dance because they saw my pretty teeth. Apparently a lot of people with my issue don't always have nice teeth but I got to the issue soon enough and my teeth survived. The first side really seemed to be the worst of it. The recovery was a bit more for the one side of my mouth than the other side. I guess that's not surprising either since I had them work on the side of my mouth that was the worst first. By the time they did the second side it went TONS smoother. They said they were done with first side and I was shocked but it took the same two hours as the first side. The second appointment with me was so easy that I came home, waited for the numbness to wear off, had some eggs, took a shower, and picked up my daughter from school. All in all the worst of it both times was a bit of soreness and the headache after.

     

    Anyways, now my mouth is better and I'm thrilled! I can smile, open my mouth and talk without fear of being judged. I'm more energetic, more things are getting done around the house and I've picked up hobbies that well, I haven't touched in years. I also have a bunch better relationship with food. Oh food, I love food now! I don't fear having to eat because it may hurt. My diet is better since I can eat apples, oranges, strawberries, sandwiches, pizza. Yes, I adore pizza now! All the foods that I had stopped eating because they hurt my mouth suddenly didn't hurt anymore. I have freedom! Its as if I've woken up from a long winter's nap. Now, my husband has called and made his own appointment..Yay! Taking this step has been the best thing I have ever pushed for in this house. I think I finally understand that dentists aren't bad people and they do want to help. I love my dentist and if she can help me conquer my fears I'm sure she can help my anxious husband. I have overcome a major thing that I have been fearing!! I feel like I've taken over the world and no one can keep me down now. Even my husband says I'm more fun to be around and for some reason I can think on my feet more with our daughter. Well, okay my husband says the dentist did voodoo magic on me. Anyways, if you grew up in the 80s and you fear dentists..seriously, the technology has gotten so much better since we were kids and nowadays there's dentists that are trained on how to deal with those of us who are seriously anxious. Its a world of difference!