Coping with dentist - ptsd

[1151december]

I need to see the dentist desperately, my teeth are in a mess with one ‘clicky’, one is half missing and the other has grown in at a funny angle causing sores . Mouth is sore as hell .

I am terrified of medical procedures . I had a horrendous experience seeing a gynaecologist at sixteen . I can’t cope with lying flat and the chair and ‘hospital’ smell . I’m instantly back in that situation .

I don’t know how to explain to the dentist what’s wrong and why I haven’t been in several years. I’m scared when I do go that I’ll lose my teeth, or that I’ll be told off somehow .

I’m also worried I’ll have to go alone, and terrified of that too . My only relative that would come with me is my mum, and she has disabilities that would mean she couldn’t support me . I’ve a friend that works just five minutes away, but I don’t want to ask her in case she feels awkward especially with covid restrictions .

What do I do? Just phone the dentist and explain what I’ve said here?

Go for a check up then ask about sedation for any treatment required

This was me last year - hadn't been for years, really worried that all my teeth would be filled/pulled or dentist would scold me, so kept putting it off, but it was fine.

I went to a new dentist i hadn't been to before, told her it was a few years since my last visit and that i was nervous after a bad experience, and there was no giving out.

I'd really recommend you go to a female dentist - small hands make a huge difference. I ended up with one filling and have been back twice since. I don't like going, but i don't dread it, and i don't have to worry about how bad my teeth might br. Go for it, you won't regret it.

I never thought of sedation tbh . I’ll try to pluck up the courage to ring them tomorrow, maybe they could even do a check up with me sitting upright I wonder . Will definitely ask for a female too !! Thank you . Fingers crossed I can get seen and get things sorted .

Just say you have a phobia/dentist anxiety as so so so many people do for all sorts of different reasons. They see dozens of patients a week and if they've been working in their jobs for years they'll have seen thousands of patients. This won't be new to them and you won't have to go into the whys and hows. They should be sympathetic and may even have been trained in how to help someone with your anxieties.