Today I got fillings done for the first time in over 12 years. I have avoided the dentist because of extreme dental phobia. I don't like the sounds of the drill, I don't like the feeling of instruments and hands all up in my mouth, and I always have this odd phobia of drowning in the dentist chair... Not to mention, I have never been able to get numb for fillings..so every dentist visit was a painful one.
That all changed today. I was prescribed xanax to take before my appointment, and I went from being so nervous I almost puked, to calm and ready to face the day. It didn't make me feel "out of it", just made my intense fears dissipate. I hear some people react quite strongly to these meds, but me personally I had no problems resuming normal daily activities after my visit, which was nice. I wish I had known about sedation dentistry years ago!
I also let them know that I have had a hard time getting numb in the past, so they made sure to get me good and numb. They even numbed my gums with gel before the needle so I didnt even feel the needle! At all!
Oh my goodness what a difference being numb makes!!! I still felt the vibrations and some pressure, and just a tiny tiny bit of pain on a really deep filling, but nothing even close to unbearable. The xanax really helped a lot here too. There was still some anxiety once the drill came into play, but nothing I couldn't handle. Whereas normally I would be internally freaking out (i say internally because when I reach that level of nervousness I just freeze, so I actually appear very calm)
Dr shields and his team are amazing at listening to my concerns and addressing them. Stacie was in the room with him today and she is the sweetest!!! Everyone I have encountered so far has been kind, gentle, and extremely competent. I have never had such a positive experience getting fillings done! Going to the dentist will never be fave pastime of mine, but I can honestly say I won't be dreading it quite as much anymore.