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Extremely nervous about tooth removal

Jakey

I got the news today that I need both my wisdom teeth removed. This is 10 years of not going to the dentist due to a lie the NHS told me where me having a panic attack about going means I cannot get appointments for free, so I never got a checkup. Since I started to get toothaches, I wondered what the issue is, and it is the wisdom teeth creating the pain, and decaying it seems.

I've never had a tooth removed, so I don't know how worried to be. My gums appear to be touching the teeth so I don't know how they're going to solve that. But I'm constantly panicking about going through that, I had fillings done before and didn't find it too bad compared to what I expected, but they only managed one because I couldn't stop swallowing my saliva and needed breaks in between. 

My other worry is about afterwards, I don't really have crunchy food which is fine, but I don't really know what I can eat? I don't eat any animal products. And I'm not sure what to do if I get food in the stitches. 

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  • in reply to $parentForumReply.Author.DisplayName

    Thanks, that does explain a lot. My wisdoom teeth are at an angle, but it is both of them. 

    I don't really have any phobias, the worst part of my fillings was the saliva build up, close second was a thing they put in between the teeth, annoyingly I could feel pain and discomfort during part of it, no idea how though, they gave me anaesthetic

    Not sure how viable the washing is because I do have a gag reflex.  

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  • in reply to Jakey
    Jakey said:
    Not sure how viable the washing is because I do have a gag reflex. 

    You don't need to gargle for this part - you just take a capful of the mouthwash into your mouth and slosh it about, focussing on the area where the tooth was removed for now but all round generally.

    I find the best way to do this is to puff my cheeks out and back in rapidly (with my mouth tightly closed) to move the liquid around. Typically I do this for around 30 seconds or until if feels like my cheeks are burning then I spit out the mouthwash into the sink.

    The gargling part is most useful for getting the mouthwash to the back of your tongue and top of your throat. By breathing out quickly while tilting my head back I find the mouthwash does not reach the part that triggers my gag reflex.

    One last thing on oral hygiene - using your toothbrush or a scraper to take all the bacteria off the top of your tongue seems a common area people skip. It is easy to trigger the gag reflex when doing the back of the tongue so I find it easier to stick my tongue out and down as far as I can before brushing it which reduces the sensitivity for a few seconds - typically long enough.

    This is how I deal with it - it is a great way of keeping your breath fresh as well as maintaining good oral hygiene. At nearly 60 I still have all my teeth (3 with crowns admittedly) and my girlfriend reports I don't have bad breath.

    If you have any doubts, ask the dentist to show you how it should be done - flossing is a tricky one to get right if you are not doing it often and it makes a lot of difference to your tooth decay and breath smell too.