Please help, please don't laugh

[alwaysawake]

Its really stupid but I've had a phobia of dentists ever since I was little and it's got progressively worse, especially in the last couple of years when I've had a really bad NHS dentist. Last Xmas one of my back teeth broke, leaving only about half the tooth and I had an emergency filling and the NHS dentist was so bad in the appoinments after that I went to a new dentist to register in April. They said they'd have to extract what was left of the tooth which was fine but I was so freaked out about dentists that I couldn't bring myself to make the next appointment and have stupidly let it drag on until now.

Now my tooth's started really killing me, woke me up today and its pathetic and childish but now I'm sitting here nearly in tears because they pains terrible but I can't imagine going to the dentist. I want sedation and then I could manage the treatment but surely no-one's going to do sedation as an emergency treatment?

Please help, has anyone been in this situation? What can I do, I can't have my tooth messed around with while I'm still conscious, I'll freak out and I can't take this pain.

Slight problem, they phoned me having only just realised I wanted sedation and because of the paperwork etc I'll need another temporary filling on weds and won't have the extraction until december!!!

Even the drilling for another temporary filling is going to be bad enough, going to take my ipod in and listen to some music (my dentist will think I've lost it), any other ideas on how to stay calm? Don't want to try and go down the Valium route as my gp is really hard to get an appt with.

How did tha appt go? Feeling better?

hope your appt went ok. sympathy. i hate the dentist. i had a tooth crumbling when i was pg with ds (9 1/2 years ago) and it was filled several times just to drop back out. the last time i went to see that particular dentist he rammed a filling back in (which bloody hurt) and laughed at me when i told him how much it hurt! i registered with another dentist years later when the same tooth kept me awake for three days. he was very good, and even though i must have jumped out of the chair about 5 times, he smiled through gritted teeth and carried on patiently. im terrified of the dentist but i can safely say that i felt nothing at all when he extracted said tooth.

haunted - one of the nicest things a dental nurse ever did for me (yes, I'm not too chuffed in the chair LOL) was simply to put her hand on my shoulder for the injection. Yeah, mabye it helped that she was gorgeous, but I think it was more the small, gentle, human contact at a time when you're scared IYSWIM.

"Yeah, mabye it helped that she was gorgeous" didn't realise you were a patient of mine!

It is amzing tho, how the smallest gesture makes all the difference! I used to do that and often just try and talk my patient thru it.

I've only scanned this thread, but have you thought about CBT counselling? It can help reduce the anxiety and teach you coping mechanisms etc. Could help you further down the line maybe. The BACP website would have registered counsellors on it, or you ask for a GP referral.

LOL, haunted. She was childless and blonde... are we getting close ?

I quite agree re: the gestures. It was the smallest thing anyone could do, and it was just so nice and appreciated.

almost, I was childless at the time, but not blond. That's me ruled out then!

This was about 2 weeks ago LOL.

Nonetheless I am sure you would do well in the Dental Nurse of the Year competition.

Good luck with everything alwaysawake.

Nah, deff not me then....