Dentist has said this is the last time my tooth can be filled

[Foslady]

It’s a back molar that’s crumbling with nothing at the back, to be honest I’m amazed that they have kept it going this long, I had work done nearly 30 years ago when it was backfilled after wisdom tooth was extracted from under the gum and the pain I was in from this has set me off with a fear of work being done in this area. He has said it’s either a crown (max of 5 years) or extraction, which he said would probably be the better option, only I’m scared stiff now of this. He could do a full sedation but that would be privately for £150 plus the extraction fee on top.
I’ve only ever had one other tooth removed as a kid (we’re talking over 40 years ago now) and that was with cocaine and again I just remember a lot of pain.

Please talk me down from this - I know I need to woman up and get on with getting myself prepared for the next time, but quite honestly I could cry at the thought of it all.

@VenusTiger and OP....they should have told you no straws! No smoking, it's the sucking action that dislodges the clot. Protecting the clot to avoid dry socket is absolutely vital! I held the swab between my teeth for a good hour. Avoided hot drinks until the evening (and then only drank when cooled right down). Lots of water. Lots of salt water rinses (but literally holding water in mouth and letting it dribble out, no swishing around mouth for a good few days). Avoided brushing anywhere near socket. I ate nothing but soup and scrambled egg for a week, doing any chewing on the opposite side and lost half a stone. That was the best bit!! I don't think the advice they give is enough in terms of dry socket. However, if you are unlucky, it can be treated very easily and the pain can be stopped immediately.

I had a wisdom tooth out on wednesday. I have ME and anxiety problems and was very scared of that and the couple of fillings I needed at the same time.

• I felt the numbing injections but they weren't bad
• i felt a lot of tugging and twisting taking the tooth out but no pain
• when the local anaesthetic wore off later it ached a fair bit but that disappeared completely with painkillers
• I've some aching still, and been only eating soft food and having about 1 dose of painkillers a day but I'm ok, I'm in a bit of discomfort (think wisdom teeth are worst) but sleeping fine and it's healing nicely.

I find having work done worse than extractions, I've had lots of each.

I've had back ones removed. There is most definitely no pain. It's a pulling feeling maybe pressure but there isn't the scraping and drilling that work has. It's usually very quick too.

I don't really think the op needs to hear dry socket horror stories

The dry sòcket horror stories ensured that I didn't get it as I was soooo fastidious in following the advice.

Thank you for posting this, and thank you everyone who has replied! I'm in a really similar situation and utterly terrified of getting my top molar removed. I've had bad experiences too, and am now stuck with a very unsympathetic and unpleasant Nhs dentist who won't consider a root canal. Currently putting off dealing with it and eating on the left side of my mouth! You've given me some confidence to go back.