Posted by coral on October 27, 2000, at 10:48:11
In reply to Re: Phobias, posted by shar on October 26, 2000, at 12:05:36
Oh, dear (((((((SHAR))))))))))
How I can identify!!!! At 14, a dentist SLAPPED me for howling in pain. My siblings and I have a genetic excess of nerves and roots - if a normal person has two, we have three or four. I'm the only member of my family who still has her own teeth, although all of mine but one have crowns, and a bridge --- too many root canals to count, 7 oral surgeries on infections that had seeped into the jaw bone. Due to my terror of dentists, Novacaine sails through my system in a heartbeat. The last oral surgeon I saw for a root canal said, "You're exactly the type of patient that caused me to become an oral surgeon." Oh, joy. Thank God he wasn't a sadist.
After a long, hard search to find a dentist who would understand, (I've bolted out of more dentists' chairs than I care to remember), I finally found a dentist who BELIEVED me. The arrangement I have with him (which might help, if you find a dentist who has still retained his/her humanity) is that 1. I come in early for an appt (15 minutes) so they can start the Nitrose full-tilt (it took my present dentist two sessions to understand that I not only could handle it at full-tilt but needed it), 2. he uses Marcaine which is much longer-acting 3. I use headphones with particularly engrossing music 4. I also bring a dark scarf to cover my eyes to block out the lights 5. he uses a "bite block" so I don't have to work at keeping my mouth open, 6. if he needs to talk to me, he does it before he starts, because I'm going "somewhere else". The only difficulty is if he's breaking in a new assistant who will INVARIABLY chatter to me, but he'll cut her off, telling her not to speak to me, that I'm doing my best to be somewhere else. Most importantly, if I raise my hand, he stops IMMEDIATELY because something hurts and gives me whatever I need to stop the pain. He also automatically writes a prescription for Vicodan so I can stay pain-free for the next 24 hours. Hell of a process, I know, but it's the ONLY way I can tolerate dental work. I bless this dentist with all my heart.I, too, hate dentists for their insensitivity, audacity to tell me that it "doesn't" hurt, (Oh, yeah???), that my phobia is childish, and refusing to listen.
If you like, I can ask my dentist if he knows of anyone in your area.
poster:coral
thread:1623
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20001011/msgs/1682.html