Dental fail

[beetiger]

So, I'd been kind of bad, and hadn't been to the dentist in about three years. I was making various appointments for the little guy, and decided to be good and take care of myself. I'm not prone to cavities -- never had one -- but I do have a serious amount of tartar buildup and routinely bleeding gums, and I really should be going in every 6 months or so. I couldn't find the number of my dentist in my files, so I looked on the net and got the number and made an appointment with one of the newer dentists there.

This morning I went. It wasn't actually my old dentist's office. It was another dentist's office in the same complex, which granted since it's mostly a dental complex is I guess a reasonable mistake to make. And when I got there, my gag reflex was apparently a lot worse than usual. they couldn't get the side X-rays done at all. Usually they can do them, though it sometimes takes a few tries.

And then...I gagged hard when they tried to do the cleaning. We tried a few times, and they got about half of the top of my mouth done, but then I just couldn't keep from choking. This has not happened to me before. I've got an annoyingly strong gag reflex, but it's never interfered with a cleaning before. They stopped halfway, and sent me out of there with a flyer for a guy who mostly does tooth implants and cosmetic work, but who also cleans the teeth of people who are "scared of dentists" and need to get their routine work done under sedation. I've driven by their office before. They advertise in the local Valu-Pac. They squick me. I made a tentative appointment with them next week anyway.

So, I don't know if this dentist, which wasn't the one I intended to go to, just sucks, and I should try again with a random other dentist. (The one I used to go to doesn't actually appear to be there anymore, or they aren't advertising.) I don't know how to find someone who is better at working with this stuff but is an actual dentist. Or maybe I should just get a pick and a better electric toothbrush and give up on professional dental care. And in any case, I think I've just already spent my dental insurance sponsored checkup for the year, so whatever I end up doing is likely at my cost.

Gah.

Comments

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

If you were just having problems with your gag reflex, rather than panic or anxiety attacks, you might be ok without anesthesia, if you had a dentist who was more skilled at dealing with this kind of problem. It's hard for a dentist to reach the inner surfaces of a patient's back teeth without brushing the backs of fingers or tools against tongue or palate. Most of them learn not to touch all the way back against the roof of the mouth, because that makes so many people gag. But someone who gags from pressure further forwards would need a dentist with particular practice (maybe one with small hands, too.)

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

Avoiding dental appointments altogether is not a good idea. Dentists do stuff to your teeth you really can't do yourself. Sedatives have risks and side effects (including nausea, including disorientation which can make some people more anxious.) Sedation ends up being the best way for some people to deal with dentistry, but that doesn't mean it's an easy way.

[beetiger.livejournal.com]

Yeah, no panic in the slightest, and no worries about pain, I actually have a moderately high pain tolerance. And I've always had a strong gag reflex, but actually having a big problem over it is new. For example, I've had wisdom teeth out with just novacaine.

I'm hoping there was just something in this office that wasn't working for me somehow, and have made an appointment with the guy my son's pediatric dentist sends kids to when they get too big for him to work with, in a few weeks.