My phobia is the dentist

dhelor wrote:
tke364 wrote:

Um, thanks guys. I think the cold sweats just kicked in.

Don't worry, that happens a lot around here. Especially when Certis starts to strip. :D

Well, I survived. It was actually not bad at all. I found the best thing to do was close your eyes so you don't see the tiny drill bits they stick in your mouth. Also nitrous + GWJ Con Call = side splitting entertainment. I had to restrain a couple of times from laughing out loud.

Ah...note to self: Bring iPod. Actually hadn't thought about that.

One time my dentist said that if I had an ipod on me I could listen to it while she's drilling. However I have silicone-sleeved sound-isolating earbuds which block out almost all external sounds. Unfortunately, they amplify any internal sounds, in the same way a seashell would when held up to your ear. When the drill hits the tooth, that's some serious jawbone conduction.

tke364 wrote:

Well, I survived. It was actually not bad at all. I found the best thing to do was close your eyes so you don't see the tiny drill bits they stick in your mouth. Also nitrous + GWJ Con Call = side splitting entertainment. I had to restrain a couple of times from laughing out loud.

That's right, just close your eyes, lean back, and let Certis take over. Everything will be ok....

Lay back and think of Goodjerstan.

My blood test went as expected - I laid down for 1.5 hours afterwards, unable to walk out of the office.

While I was laying down, the nurses took blood from half a dozen of the elderly right next to me. The tiny-to-medium-sized elderly women joked with the nurses and had no side-effects whatsoever. The last one was smiling as she admitted she was 95 years old. Then she walked off with her walker while I, a 29-year-old, kept lying down for another 30 minutes.

I don't mind the dentist so much, but it should be mandatory that they have a hot assistant with a little cleavage showing. Makes the whole experience just a tad nicer in my opinion.

My phobias:
Heights, kinda makes me sick to my stomache.
Large groups of people/strangers, I'm not very social unless it is one on one. It makes me wonder if in a past life I was the target of an angry mob or something.

Sam is afraid of dentistry too, so don't feel alone. He almost shot a psychiatrist because of it.

I now understand why those @$@#$'s make you pay *before* the actual root canal.

/Yes. Had mine done today. Lots of fun. Yay.

magnus wrote:

I now understand why those @$@#$'s make you pay *before* the actual root canal.

You know what I don't understand? How do the the gondolas fit in there?

Some antibiotics and some Vicodin later I'm doing much...zzz.

DALLAS, TX – A Swedish 34-year old went crazy today at a dentist office in North Dallas and attacked a dentist. The dentist will survive and has yet to decide if he's going to press charges or not. As the Dallas police officers lead the crazy Swede away, he was overheard screaming obscenities about the dentist profession as a whole and asking for a second prescription of Vicodin.

Smooth. Like rock salt.

There's nothing like getting the laughing gas treatment, wondering if you're supposed to feel normal and then watching that dentist just bust in your mouth with that honking drill that looks like it might be better off driving in concrete screws than doing god knows what to my little pearly (erm... slightly coffee stained) whites.

I damn near hit my dentist too when the pain came rushing forth -- I don't blame that Swede at all, and this is a dentist that is a friend of mine.

The only thing I fear is needles in the mouth when they go to numb.

magnus wrote:

Ah...note to self: Bring iPod. Actually hadn't thought about that.

Or not, depending on your library.

Incidentally, those of you who have actual dentist phobias might want to switch off after about 0:54.

edit: goddamn necrospammer.

I've had a plethora of orthodontic work done over the years (braces, retainers, more braces, full on surgery), to the point where for a while I'd almost nap at the dentist. Pff, drills have nothing on surgery level braces (forget rubber bands, those things are steel wired in). Someone poking and prying and generally shoving unpleasant metal tools into my mouth doesn't phase me much anymore. Needles though... needles in the mouth.

The place I go has seen 4 dentists in the past few years, but the staff has remained the same and that's why I keep going back - they're nice and wonderfully gentle.

Pro-tips - ask if they have a bite-guard. It's basically a chunk of rubber you can stick between you're teeth so your jaw doesn't get so fatigued. Headphones - half the pain is the sound. This helps mitigate the sound.

kazooka wrote:

edit: goddamn necrospammer.

You're not the only one.

So tke364, 4 years on, been back to the dentist? Things better?

johnfroila wrote:

A few days ago I met a dentist who said that my teeth were the most useful.

"Yes. These will make a good necklace."

Anymore, if I was given an either/or choice, I'd rather just get a rectal exam done than go to the dentist. And no, I don't particularly want the rectal exam either.

Pro tip: don't use the same doctor for both.

These days there's no reason for pain, or even much discomfort at the dentist. They don't even have to smear the flouride around after cleaning, one tiny dot of lacquer on each tooth and you're done. Anaesthetics are about an order of magnitude stronger and take effect in five minutes or so, rather than the 15 or 20 they used to; one shot takes the place of several before. A density probe detects cracks and weak spots/cavities in teeth without the use of a metal pick; it just whines when it finds something. Fillings are quick set and you can eat on them right away. Teeth with problem areas can be coated to fill in the gaps that previously would have led to decay. Most of this stuff is new in the last 5-10 years.

Shop around and find one that's sensitive to phobias. Some have videos you can watch, music via headphones, all sorts of distractions if you need them.

It's the part where they break out the picks and get down to the scraping. I can't stand it. And yes, it's my own fault for plaque/tartar buildup or whatever that stuff is.

GAH.