I am like millions of people who actually have a fear of dentists or anything that has to do with dentistry! About 3 years ago I started having severe jaw pain along with severe teeth and cheek pain. I tried tolerating this pain for several months before I finally gave in and went to my local dentist.
The day I went into the dentist I suffered a severe anxiety attack thanks to my fear of dentists and actually had to be sedated, thank god for sedative dentistry! Once I was safely sedated my dentist did some x-rays and an oral exam which took approximately 45 minutes to complete. I am really glad that I was sedated and don’t remember a thing about it until he was all completed with his examination.
After I woke up from all of my sedation he diagnosed me with TMJ and Trigeminal Neuralgia, both are very painful conditions and require additional surgical treatment. I wasn’t prepared for that at all and that set off my panic attack once again.
After the dentist got me all calmed down again he explained to me that since I selected a sedative dentistry office that he could sedate me every time I came in for treatment or for oral surgery. Wow, that sure did ease my mind because I knew I just couldn’t go through with the treatment if I had to remain awake for it.
Over the past 3 years I have seen my oral surgeon (dentist) 7 times and have had 7 surgical procedures performed and thankfully each one has gotten easier and easier for me thanks to the sedation services that his office offers.
I am happy to report to all of you that since having my 7 oral surgeries that my condition has improved by about 70% and I only have one more oral surgery to go and hopefully my nightmare with TMJ and Trigeminal Neuralgia will be over.
Today I would like to know if any of our blog readers have a fear of dentists and if so, how do you handle visiting the dentist?