Most of us are scared of dental experiences and when it comes to me I can have nightmares even if someone whom I do not even know talks about going to a dentist; even with the fact that my sister is a dentist. Even though this was my first experience, as far as I can remember, I was scared as hell to get under the drills and it turns out to be one of funniest moments in my life.
Fear of "the dentist" or "dentists" is pretty common. If you've had bad (or not-so-great) experiences with dentists in the past, it is very easy to make the assumption that dentists, in general, are bad people. There's a theory called "construct theory", which states that we have a tendency to ascribe certain attributes to a group of people who have something in common (in this case, dentists), based on our (or others) experiences of this group. However, these constructs (e. g. "evil" as opposed to "kind", "bad" as opposed to "good" and so on) tend to be based on a very small number of observations.
My maxillary second molar was giving me some problems and given my perception and inability to bear pain, I finally decide to visit a dentist. What I had in mind was to have a general check up and some tablets to solve my problem. I look up the possible great dentists in Mysore; through friends; the Internet and any other sources that I could find. I planned to have a list and then rate them to find out the dentist who was known to keep the pain minimum. It turned out that I was only researching for about 6 months and my tooth was not getting any better. [I guess I was hoping that my tooth would heal by itself]. Finally, when I had enough of the discomfort, I go to a dentist who had treated quite some people in my office; and they vouched that the procedures had been painless.
I go to the dentist to have a check up and with much difficulty I sit on the chair and let the dentist have a look inside my mouth. The dentist is nice and makes you comfortable by talking to me a lot. I feel a variety of emotions as he tells me that nothing is amiss however I might require a root canal on my tooth. Now a root canal is a dreadful situation as I felt that this is not happening. The thought of killing a part of my body (my tooth) was equally painful (I am still not sure whether it was about killing my tooth or about the pain I thought I was going to experience). I ended up doing a lot of research about the procedure, from the Internet as well as having long consultations with my sister.
Root canal therapy refers to the process by which a dentist treats the inner aspects of a tooth, specifically that area inside a tooth that is occupied by its "pulp tissue." Most people would probably refer to a tooth's pulp tissue as its "nerve." While a tooth's pulp tissue does contain nerve fibers it is also composed of arteries, veins, lymph vessels, and connective tissue.
Finally when I thought I was prepared, I book an appointment and end up on a dentist’s chair. As I was being prepared, I saw the nurse bringing up a syringe with the local anesthesia, to be stuck up inside my mouth. That was it! I knew I cannot handle this; I just stand up and make a run for it; the run for my life. I could see the expression on the face of the dentist as I run out of his clinic. Once I’m out, my ego strikes back at me as I realize how big a coward I have been and I return back. However, it took the dentist another half an hour before he could actually stick the needle inside. I was genuinely surprised as I did not feel any pain; I could feel the needle going inside but it did not hurt. He then starts his drilling but I was feeling the streaks of pain signaling that the anesthesia was not working; much because of my anxiety and I get another shot of the syringe. I was already feeling like I was in hell; the procedure was taking its toll on me. I kept reminding myself that I am a man and should keep up to it and bear the pain. It takes some time for the procedure to complete and I am happy that it went fine. I believe that I would have been the worst patient that this guy would have ever handled. Once, I’m back at my place, I feel the effects of the anesthesia; I could not feel the right side of my mouth; I pinch hard and had no feeling. Bloody hell, I took too much of the shots just because I was scared. While he was performing his art on me, I could feel my mouth and now I could not. I look up at the heavens and thank my gods that the procedure was not exactly as I had expected. However, I decide and promised myself that I was not getting under any instrument again.
However, I had to visit the dentist again, this time for a routine check-up, so that I could travel without any issues. And guess what, even after knowing that it's not that difficult a thing, I am scared again. But I know that this time I will be more comfortable.
At this point I would say that dental procedures are acutally not that scary as we percieve them to be. But it is the feeling of complete submission that gives the creeps. You feel helpless bound in the chair and that makes things horrific. But dentist are normal people as we are and if you are at a good one, he would make sure that you are most comfortable and would try to make any procedure as painless as possible.
Fear of "the dentist" or "dentists" is pretty common. If you've had bad (or not-so-great) experiences with dentists in the past, it is very easy to make the assumption that dentists, in general, are bad people. There's a theory called "construct theory", which states that we have a tendency to ascribe certain attributes to a group of people who have something in common (in this case, dentists), based on our (or others) experiences of this group. However, these constructs (e. g. "evil" as opposed to "kind", "bad" as opposed to "good" and so on) tend to be based on a very small number of observations.
My maxillary second molar was giving me some problems and given my perception and inability to bear pain, I finally decide to visit a dentist. What I had in mind was to have a general check up and some tablets to solve my problem. I look up the possible great dentists in Mysore; through friends; the Internet and any other sources that I could find. I planned to have a list and then rate them to find out the dentist who was known to keep the pain minimum. It turned out that I was only researching for about 6 months and my tooth was not getting any better. [I guess I was hoping that my tooth would heal by itself]. Finally, when I had enough of the discomfort, I go to a dentist who had treated quite some people in my office; and they vouched that the procedures had been painless.
I go to the dentist to have a check up and with much difficulty I sit on the chair and let the dentist have a look inside my mouth. The dentist is nice and makes you comfortable by talking to me a lot. I feel a variety of emotions as he tells me that nothing is amiss however I might require a root canal on my tooth. Now a root canal is a dreadful situation as I felt that this is not happening. The thought of killing a part of my body (my tooth) was equally painful (I am still not sure whether it was about killing my tooth or about the pain I thought I was going to experience). I ended up doing a lot of research about the procedure, from the Internet as well as having long consultations with my sister.
Root canal therapy refers to the process by which a dentist treats the inner aspects of a tooth, specifically that area inside a tooth that is occupied by its "pulp tissue." Most people would probably refer to a tooth's pulp tissue as its "nerve." While a tooth's pulp tissue does contain nerve fibers it is also composed of arteries, veins, lymph vessels, and connective tissue.
Finally when I thought I was prepared, I book an appointment and end up on a dentist’s chair. As I was being prepared, I saw the nurse bringing up a syringe with the local anesthesia, to be stuck up inside my mouth. That was it! I knew I cannot handle this; I just stand up and make a run for it; the run for my life. I could see the expression on the face of the dentist as I run out of his clinic. Once I’m out, my ego strikes back at me as I realize how big a coward I have been and I return back. However, it took the dentist another half an hour before he could actually stick the needle inside. I was genuinely surprised as I did not feel any pain; I could feel the needle going inside but it did not hurt. He then starts his drilling but I was feeling the streaks of pain signaling that the anesthesia was not working; much because of my anxiety and I get another shot of the syringe. I was already feeling like I was in hell; the procedure was taking its toll on me. I kept reminding myself that I am a man and should keep up to it and bear the pain. It takes some time for the procedure to complete and I am happy that it went fine. I believe that I would have been the worst patient that this guy would have ever handled. Once, I’m back at my place, I feel the effects of the anesthesia; I could not feel the right side of my mouth; I pinch hard and had no feeling. Bloody hell, I took too much of the shots just because I was scared. While he was performing his art on me, I could feel my mouth and now I could not. I look up at the heavens and thank my gods that the procedure was not exactly as I had expected. However, I decide and promised myself that I was not getting under any instrument again.
However, I had to visit the dentist again, this time for a routine check-up, so that I could travel without any issues. And guess what, even after knowing that it's not that difficult a thing, I am scared again. But I know that this time I will be more comfortable.
At this point I would say that dental procedures are acutally not that scary as we percieve them to be. But it is the feeling of complete submission that gives the creeps. You feel helpless bound in the chair and that makes things horrific. But dentist are normal people as we are and if you are at a good one, he would make sure that you are most comfortable and would try to make any procedure as painless as possible.
- They gently explain what the patient will soon feel, and for about how long.
- They frequently ask the patient for permission to continue.
- They give the patient the opportunity to stop the procedure at any time the patient feels uncomfortable. They give them a cue, like raise your left hand.
- They make time for breaks as requested.
So, next time you go to a dentist, do not be fearful at all. It's no big deal!
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