Do you close your eyes?

[GoGoSuperBug]

At the dentist? I always close my eyes because it feels weird having someone that close to my face. I hate the opticians because I have to keep my eyes open.

YABU - I keep my eyes open, it would be rude to close them.

YANBU - it’s less awkward for everyone to keep them closed.

I've just googled them, and I'm pretty sure I'd collapse in a fit of hysterics if my dentist wore these. They remind me of googly eyes on stalks!

My dentist always gives you dark glasses to wear. To shield you from the powerful light shining your eyes.

Mine are firmly shut from the moment I put the glasses on until the chair goes back to normal. I could not bear to see those instruments coming towards me!

This will have been an injection for a lower back tooth.

when you give an injection to numb up a lower back tooth you are aiming to “block” a particular nerve . It is a demanding technique which requires using a lot of landmarks to get it right.

Very,very,very occaisionally a dentist gets it perfectly right and hits the nerve , giving the lightening bolt sensation. The plus side is that the area is guaranteed to go numb as the injection has been so accurate . It doesn’t happen anywhere else , is a known , if rare complication .

Thank you for the explanation, at least I wasn't going round the bend then!

Ours has a TV that shows a crackling fireplace in winter and a beach type scene in summer! Grateful I have that to focus on!

Yes but mainly because the bright light is likely to give me a migraine!

I was at the dentist the other day and did actually think about this whilst in the chair, always have kept them open but wondered what the dentist would think if I closed them? Need a dentists opinion on here

Oooo.....why does mine not do this?! That sounds lovely.....might have to suggest mine does the same lol
Do you have a private dentist?

I struggle a bit with eye contact in general but at the dentist, opticians etc I stare at a fixed point on the ceiling etc.

The protective glasses are mandatory PPE, for health & Safety. The purpose to prevent any debris/dropped instruments, (cos it does happen) going into the eyes, and to shade from the bright overhead dental light.

It's never once occurred to me to close my eyes at the dentist! I honestly didn't realise it was an option! Mine has a big illuminated picture of the sky on the ceiling and I stare at that. Wonder what dentists prefer their patients to do.
I don't think I'll give it a go as I'll start to drift off, and am then likely to give a startled nonsense-answer to any questions they might ask and embarrass myself.

Unfortunately my dentist seems to be very keen on garlic.
I can tell exactly how close he is, even with my eyes closed.

I do go private, yes.

Closed. I’ve a dentist phobia and that’s the only way I can get through an appointment.

This.

Much much worse was the visit to the bladder clinic when the nurse wanted to check my pelvic floor muscles.
So she's got one hand inside me and she's saying "squeeze, squeeze" whilst making full eye contact ... I just wanted to quietly dig a hole and crawl in it!😞

I hate needles so avoid the injections where possible. I tend to focus on a point on the ceiling and just breathe through any treatment.

My dentist did manage to persuade me to have the injections for a root canal but, to be honest, she said I'd probably gone through so much pain by the time that I'd gone to the dentist that it would have been sweet relief even without!

I make myself stare at a fixed point on the ceiling.

Perhaps I should compromise and just close one eye.....

No my dentist is not looking at my eyes and I’m not looking at them! I stare at the ceiling or something on the wall and just want it over with. I did go to one dentist who had a tv to look at - that was so much better!

I’ve never used dark glasses because I like to see patients eyes to check that they are comfortable and to make sure they haven’t fainted (happens a lot) . A patient is continually monitored to make sure they’re ok and it’s easier to keep connection with a person if you can see them. Dentistry is a very personal service that is much better when patient and dentist are on the same wavelength.

That being said I’ve had a lot of people fall asleep in the chair and some people who will close eyes for particular things eg injections . However I find for most very nervous patients it’s better if they keep eyes open as otherwise they are totally focused on sensations in the mouth .

iIclose them becasue even when wearing the dentist's trendy shades the light's too bright plus it's more relaxing!

That’s very swanky! Wish we had that 🥰

Oh my word, I honestly thought I was the only person to have experienced this, many years ago after a very quick labour destroyed my pelvic floor!

They don't give you protective glasses because you must have you're eyes open, you muppet!