• Replies 3 replies
  • Subscribers 25 subscribers
  • Views 854 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Options
Related
Hints and tips
  • To quote someone's message, first select/highlight the relevant text, and then use the Quote button that appears
  • To "mention" someone, type @ followed by the start of the forum name, and choose from the list; that person will get a notification of being mentioned

Dental appointment

bristolvr3

Hello everyone.

I have a routine dental appointment at my local dental practice in Felixstowe, Suffolk, on the afternoon of Thursday 9th January. I find dental appointments really scary and nerve-wracking at times because I always fear that the dentist might spot one tiny thing wrong with one of my teeth, which might require specialist cleaning or even a filling by the hygienist.

Fortunately, my dental record has been fine. As of January 2014, I am 32 years old, and have only had two fillings in that time, which isn't too bad. In recent years, my dental record has been fine. I have been brushing my teeth thoroughly, every morning and every evening. I have also been using the very best available toothbrush for brushing between teeth, although I use dental floss for the really tight gum areas that some toothbrushes cannot access.

I have found my dental practice rather uncomfortable. The main entrance isn't exactly wide, or even particularly wheelchair friendly. Although there are sufficient seats in the reception area, I find waiting ages for my dentist's availability agonising. I just want my appointment over and done with, so I can go home immediately. When he or she is available, I have to go up some really narrow stairs, which I find difficult to climb or descend due to my size 12 feet (I am 6 feet 5 inches tall as well), meaning I end up going up or down in a sideways movement. 

If my dentist says my teeth require attention, I groan in frustration. Even if nothing is wrong, I should be happy, but I still feel sad in a way. As I am on benefits, my dental appointment won't cost me anything. My mum has had her teeth cleaned out at the same dental practice today (Monday 6th January), and I believe that that cost her £50. Maybe that's just me recovering from a nervous, stressful experience, but there you go.

What are your experiences of dental appointments?

  • My main issues with the dentist is the claustrophobicness of it all.  You have to sit in this chair with your mouth open while a dentist has sharp pointy instruments near your mouth.  I don't like that restricted feeling.  It is true that our brains are more likely to worry, because I think things like 'what happens if I were to be sick?' or 'what if I didn't like something and wanted to move?'.  I have problems with stomach acid so my teeth at the front need treatment occasionally, and when I was somewhere without any NHS dentistry available the dental insurance used to not pay out thinking I was getting work done on my front teeth for 'cosmetic reasons'.  Like I'm going to voluntarily have fillings and root canals done on my front teeth.

  • Hello, IntenseWorld.

    When my local hygienist did the first of my two fillings, it was a really scary and somewhat noisy job. The drill was small, but I struggled to cope with that noise. It was already noisy when switched on, but when it's used on the tooth in question, it was kind of like drilling into a concrete or brick wall in a way, it was that noisy. The second filling was not so bad as it was a small job. As I was a few years older at the time, I knew what was coming, and I seemed kind of comfortable with it. 

    One thing I have noticed with my dental appointments is that some of the dentists I met over the years came from foreign backgrounds. I don't know if that's the case with you, but I believe some of mine were originally from Turkey, Asia (possibly China or Hong Kong), or Greece/Cyprus. There's nothing wrong with that, but meeting them for the first time can be a nervous experience for me. I initially had difficulties understanding what they were saying (presumably due to their unfamiliar accents), but my mum supported me where she could.

  • I can cope with them fine, except the things they put in your mouth for x-rays because I have a very sensitive gag reflex and when they have to take impressions as that has made me violently heave when the cement ran down the back of my throat.

    I was never apprehensive of dentists until one decided that rather than send me to hospital to have my wisdom teeth out, he would do them over two appointments in the practice.  It was hell.  My face was so swollen and yellow from bruising I had to stay home for a couple of days.  The socket also started pouring with blood whilst walking down the street a week following extraction and I had to go back in for an emergency appointment to get some sponge stuff in the socket.  It took him an hour to get one tooth out and he drilled through the middle of it and extracted it in parts.  When the drill went in the anaesthetic hadn't fully worked and my reflex meant I almost hit the dentist.

    I don't mind going for check-ups but am always wary of any work needing doing.  There are plenty of neurotypicals who are dentist-phobic.