After a seven month wait I finally got the appointment through for my operation to get all four wisdom teeth removed. I go in on the 1st of December. I'm really dreading it as I've got to go under a general Anaesthetic due to having a severe phobia against needles. It's going to be so much fun since they have to break my jaw in four places then drill away part of the jawbone to remove the teeth. Couldn't they have waited till after Christmas?!!

I've never been for any other operations before and I feel queasy just thinking about it. It doesn't help that I also have a heart condition that could cause major complications. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can settle my nerves? :( :( :(

Breathe deeply, and think positively. I had some wisdom teeth out and I didn't have to have my jaw broken, I had it done under a GA and had no problems, no bruising, no nothing....how come it has to be so severe

I now enjoy going to the dentist. I found one who is very good, calm, thorough and uses the very latest techniques. I even like the hygeinist :D :D No more GA's for me ;)

The roots are curved and embedded into the jawbone so the only way to get them out is breaking the jaw, or thats what I was told by the dentist. The whole thing sounds very medieval to me. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Maybe they should use it as a deterant for crime :D :D :D

It is being done in a hospital isn't it??!! Just checking, I'm sure it is.... but it does sound severe . Are you in pain with them then?

Yes it is being done in hospital. I have been in pain with them for over a year. One of them even came through rotten and whilst I've been waiting for my op it has rotted to almost nothing. I had to suffer the pain of the nerves rotting away with only paracetamol and ibuprofen to dull the ache. If I had been an animal the vets would have been sued for cruelty for leaving me in pain this long.

I've got a big appointment tomorrow - Rescue Remedy and deep breathing helps me.......

Wasnt it nice of them to give details of things you wont know about because youll be anaesthetised? Not. I use a relaxation tape of natural sounds like waves or birdsong to relax and aromatherapy oils as a pulse point annointer. Breathing exercises really work for me too.

Don't know if it would work for you but my friend is absolutely terrified of the dentist,so she goes for acupunture relaxation before her appointments and says it's marvelous! or maybe your gp can give you a mild sedative?
good luck anyway I'm sure it will all turn out fine.

I don't think acupuncture would be much use to me, due to the swear word involved, NEEDLES!!! hehehe! :D :D :D

Get the magic cream :) on your hand an hour before, and you won't feel the needle. Like you I'm petrified of injections, so before I got knocked out in hospital, to get my wisdom teeth out, I got a blob of cream on both hands (I'm not taking any chances) :D It definitely made me feel calmer when it came to the needle bit.

Michelle.

My dentist quoted us £90 for 3 teeth to have fillings which i think is bloody exspensive once they were done she gave us a bill for £129.50 dont you think its a bit of a con im a bit mad

Hi, I'm a dental nurse and for all you scaredy cats out there ;) there are a lot of things that we can do to help you feel more relaxed about your appts (honestly :D)
Firstly, find a dentist who you TRUST,that goes a long way to helping you then there's RA, relative amnesia, which is a bit like gas and air, we have had patients who were in tears at the smell of the surgery, and with the help of RA, they're getting the treatment they require. There are also creams and things you can buy, which help you to relax.
The problem with dental phobics is that they have a problem, and they leave it, wishing it better, but it may go away, but it'll never stay away, until it's treated. So a small filling could turn into a root treatment or extraction, so really it's best to go every 6 months at least for your check ups :D (easy for me to say eh!!!!!)
Sharon
X

Sharon I've just about wet myself laughing at the 'find a dentist you trust' is there such a thing? Ermmm not in my books, hell I can't even get a dentist in my county, there just aren't any NHS places available not even for the disabled like me -------- actually I think it's more likely 'especially not for the disabled they're a pain in the rear end' our MP can't get on a list.

The dentist I do use thinks my menieres is a phobia, that I get dizzy because of needles not the fact that I'm laying flat on my back for HIS benefit! My last visit summer of 02 cost me 8 wks of my life trying to recover from the brusies on my jawbone from his fingers and the vertigo that just wouldn't abait for 4 of those 8 wks, it was so sever I was bedridden. All he did was replace a filling that had fallen out due to the steroids I have to take, he only got worried when I started to vomit and couldn't walk out of his surgery---------- mind I did lose 2 stone over that 8 wks and had to have the district nurse and Dr out 3 times due to D & V to excess.

I have a dentist I can trust. He charges me £145 a go though for about 45 mins - but its worth it :) Even if I can only afford to go every couple of years!! No NHS round here either - and the last NHS one I had was a butcher.

I asked for people to help me find a way to calm my nerves not make me more nervous :p
All this talk of bad experiences and butchers doesn't inspire confidence :(

You'll be asleep - you won't know if he's a butcher :D :D

:p :p

You have made me giggle

Just got back from my appointment - nearly an hour, two huge fillings (one tooth almost broke in half as he drilled - dunno what was holding it together!) - £170!! Back in a couple of weeks time for one more big one. He is a really nice dentist - Asian, teases the living daylights out of his dental nurse, and stops for frequent 'are you OK there' breaks :) They also have an alternative therapy lady working there - offering reflexology and aromatherapy - I could book a reflexology session to follow on from my dentist appointment as a reward next time :)

Schip, I have a dentist I can trust - he also charges whopping amounts but it's worth it for the peace of mind. Don't want to diss the NHS but the only NHS dentist I had was seriously scary, never bothered to find out my name and told me I needed three fillings (which I didn't). So I went private. :D

Luckily we have an excellent dentist.

Having (just) survived the 'tender' (not!) ministrations of a butcher of a dentist as a child, when a local anaesthetic meant someone held you down, I have a terror of them, which is only just outweighed by my terror of toothache.

The woman I see now is brilliant, and has done a lot of work on me without causing pain. I still detest going, but I know the alternative is worse.

Horrid subject!
:)

OMG Lovely lady, that's bladdy expensive !!!!
My dad had his first ever filling a couple of months ago, aged 63, and it only cost him £12.50. How can your be sooo expensive??

I'm lucky enough not to be getting a needle. They are going to gas me instead. So far I've broken 1 nurse's jaw and bitten a chunk out of anothers arm for trying to come near me with needles. I take a very severe panic attack when I see them or they are even mentioned around me.
I had a bad experience with a sadistic nurse and a needle when I was four, she practically threw the needle into my arm(after telling me it was GOING to hurt! ) and it hit bone, and my fear has gotten worse as time went by. :(

..Omg jen simulare thing happened to me as well. when i was about 15 i went for an injection the nurse dident even look at what she was doing my younger brother had to pull my shirt out of the way in time it hit the bone and a vein so it wouldent stop bleeding.
I also have had several nurses who have put the needle in and dropted it or had to replace it several times.
Iused to be fine with needles now i feel sick and start to go dizzy at the thought of it. the nurses dont give a .. dont even try to put you at ease.
My last dentist just said shut up it dosent hurt and did it, i wasent too happy with how i was treated . ya get some good ones and some bad ones thou;)

Stop worrying Jen.

I had all four of mine out under GA, after suffering for months.

On was coming through at 90 degrees to the jaw bone, one was pushing another tooth out of the jaw & one was pushing on the nerve. They gave me dire warnings about "oh, if we get it wrong you'll lose all feeling in your jaw" and stuff like that, but at the end of the day I had no swelling, very little pain, hardly any locking of the jaw and only a very small bruise.

I was back to eating normally within 3 days.

Sorry to hear you have such a problem with needles. You could try hypnotherapy to sort it. But acupuncture is nothing at all like having an injection.

Hope all goes well.

Julia & Hooligans

Re being terrified of needles. I am a Registered Nurse and HATE having injections, Giving to others is ok(!!) but when it come to me getting them I am as jumpy as anyone. As for the dentist, before I let her near me with the needle, she uses 'magic cream' on the gum, which is a topical local anaesthetic. This numbs the gum enough do she can inject - and my eyes are VERY TIGHTLY CLOSED! All the best for the coming op.and hope all goes well.

Hi mitch where do you get this cream from? i ha ve a wonderful dentist i have always hated the dentists but now i have found this one i dont mind he puts me under and i dont feel a thing,(just the needle in my hand)

hi there,
i had my wisdom teeth removed under GA a few years ago didnt have my jaw broken though,my teeth were not coming through properly,had them cut and pulled out,good luck for the 1st,my hubby having 4 teeth out and a abscess removed on the 2nd,
mandy

I also had my wisdom teeth out (a very long time ago ;)) and it was the shock of being told AFTERWARDS that they'd had to break my jaw that brought on my fear of dentists :(

I had to have one wisdom tooth removed a couple of years ago (I am lucky, I only had two - the others are missing). My dentist said that he couldn't take it out, but one of the other partners was a specialist at taking them out :) So I turned up for the appointment and the other dentist was a HUGE coloured chap - must have weighed about 20 stone :D The nurse had to hold onto me as the dentist tugged and tugged before the tooth came out. It didn't hurt at all, but I wish that I had a video of it - it must have looked really funny :D

Daisy

Hi Corso Girl,
The cream I'm talking about, is what you can get put on the back of your hand at the hospital, before you get knocked out for an op. I've had it 3 times, and it really numbs, so you don't feel the sharpness of the needle. You have to ask for it.
I don't know it dentists use it.
Michelle.

urgh!!

I was lucky with my wisdom teeth, they cam through, and although bloody painful, I didn't have any problems. I could hardly open my mouth though, and couldn't eat. I had to have soup through a straw!!
I've always been terrified of dentists so very rarely go....but not long ago one of my back teeth broke....then bits kept breaking off, then I got an abcess...etc etc...I ended up in so much pain, I just couldn't take it any more. I spent my nights with frozen stuffing and sausages stuck to my face, and lived on ibuprofen!!
I was so terrified about going to the dentist, but in the end, I had three local anaesthetics in my gum and the tooth taken out...it wasn't a problem at all, and I was so glad not to be in pain any more!!

Mind you, I'm still terrified of the dentist, even after my good experience!! I think I'm just a wimp!!

lisa

Don't worry, it won't be that bad.

I have had them out in hospital and it was fine. :)

I have also had two Ops on my right jaw as have got a really bad bite which made the cartlidge in the joint dislocate :(

I have lived to tell the tale ;)

Are you overshot or undershot then Lucy? :p :D :D :D

Over ! :D It never stopped me gassing :p

The consultant who did the first OP (Mary Quants brother, Air Comodore Quant) explained it also had another name, Honeymooners jaw.

:D :D

:D :D :D @ LJS