To worry that dentists laugh as soon as you walk out of the room?

[RobynsMama]

I’ve been lucky up to now, never needed anything doing to my teeth other and a checkup and cleaning.

But I broke my tooth, cracked it completely in two eating a Freddo bar . It must have been weak because it was the big back molar. But the worst thing is I’m away from home.

It was starting to hurt so managed to get an emergency appointment, fine. Got there and the dentist was so lovely, but after the x Ray she said it needed to come out. Numbed me up (that didn’t hurt at all and I was amazed) then started trying to pull the rest of the tooth loose.

Now I was numb, the anaesthetic had worked really well on my cheek and my tongue but when she started wiggling the tooth it was such an awful pain. So she gave some more local, waited a bit and tried again. It was the same cycle over and over and I got so panicked and was hyperventilating and crying. A complete and utter mess . She even got the dental nurse to hold my head at one point so she could use it for traction I guess? Anyway after 45 minutes of her wiggling and pulling she finally said that it was a complex extraction and she’d cut the tooth up into bits and try and do it that way. Another 15 minutes and it was finally all out.

Immediately after all I felt was this sense of utter shame at how I reacted, it’s completely out of character for me and I’m not usually a wimp with pain but there was just something about this that made me feel so panicky and sick and I keep thinking about how awful it was.

But my AIBU is, do dentists and dental nurses laugh about nervous/anxious patients or those that struggle with extractions and things? I only ask because the moment I left the room I heard laughter from behind the closed door. I’d like to think they weren’t laughing at me, but I’m really not sure. Just in a bit of a feeling sorry for myself state and it keeps playing on my mind.

willdoitinaminute

Thank you so much for your reply. It was great to hear from you and PP who work in dentistry. I can’t imagine how tired she must’ve been because she really was working hard. I think because I was an unscheduled emergency case she just wanted to get it out, and at that point so did I so I think if she’d have asked me if I wanted someone else to have a try I probably would have said no and she maybe sensed that. Idk. I’m very relieved that it’s over though. Not looking forward to salt water rinsing from tomorrow but I’ll stick to it religiously so I don’t have to go back!

Tensixtysix

So sorry you had to go through that. It’s really bloody awful. Especially over Christmas.

mine had three roots too, and they were curved or something but she was probably cursing that tooth.

Eating solid food ever again feels like a distant dream but we’ll see. I’m relieved (but not pleased iyswim) to know that other people have reacted like me it makes me feel
Less silly

A few years ago I had a extraction it was quite traumatic and I kept saying it's hurting . The dentist said it can't be and eventually pulled it out . I found the whole thing traumatic I haven't been to a dentist since and I'll definitely never go back there.
I'm not soft I'd rather have a smear test . I keep trying to Will some courage to book a appointment up but I'll never be able to have a extraction again unless it's in hospital under anaesthetic.
You are not alone but I thing it would be highly unlikely they were laughing at you just perhaps the awkwardness of the situation. That would if made me feel worse I hope you are feeling better .

They were probably laughing with relief that they managed to do the extraction. I’m sure they see people crying every day. Lots of people lose their nerve at the dentist whether it’s painful or not.

Just be glad it’s done and be kind to yourself.

I am also sure it was relieved laughter. When my son was a baby he had to have a tricky medical procedure and the doctor just couldn't manage to complete it, got a registrar in to help, and the registrar couldn't manage it either. We all sat around very tense, me, a nurse, the doctor and the registrar struggling, for what seemed like a very long time (probably a few minutes only) as my son got more and more distressed. When he finally managed it, we all felt such relief and there was laughter and lots of emotions. I remember the registrar even had tears in his eyes as he laughed with relief at having done it! I was so surprised. Medical staff and dentists do really care about their patients and they would not think it was amusing that you had a difficult time. I'm sorry this happened to you, it sounds very traumatic and I hope you have someone you can talk it through with. It sounds like you really need to offload the emotions and the difficulty of it.

I thought this was going to be a thread about them laughing at how much they charge people.

I don't think they'd laugh at a patient whose tooth wasn't coming out easily. It's probably a very common occurrence.

If it makes you feel any better OP, I had to go to the dentist last week for two fillings and a teeth cleaning... I could barely keep still through the teeth cleaning and the place was like a bloodbath, the second filling was so bad they had to top up the anaesthetic twice and send me back to the the waiting room to wait for it to kick in and even then I struggled and they had to stop a few times...
And if that by itself wasn’t mortifying enough, I have a hair loss problem and I sweated so much my wig fell off. So that was great.
I think there’s something very specific about being at the dentist. Not only is it painful, you’re lying down with your feet higher than your head, you’ve got a bright light shining right in your face, you’re tired from holding your mouth wide open, you’re trying to keep still and worrying that one false twitch will result in even more pain and then there’s the lovely noises from the drills and whatever else... it’s a very vulnerable, intimidating feeling.

I agree with PP. It is a very vulnerable feeling.
I always feel uneasy and worried even if I am just going for a check up or a cleaning.
Sounds like a traumatic experience for you which you did well to get through. Be kind to yourself xx

Nobody laughs. When I have to extract an ingrowing toenail I usually feel a bit sick afterwards (podiatrist).

She even got the dental nurse to hold my head at one point so she could use it for traction I guess?

This is normal.
There is no way they will be laughing OP. They've just done a difficult extraction and will be as relieved as you are that it's over.

OP, I don’t think they laugh otherwise dentists would be laughing on an off all day and we’d all want to be dentists for all the fun.

On a serious note I had a traumatic tooth extraction and it has put me off dentists for life. I think certain extractions should be referred to the dental hospital for removal.

The laughter you heard will have come from utter relief. 'Thank God we did it!!' 'That was hard work' (the extraction not you!)