Root Canal
I know this thread has probably been made a billion times, but I need a root canal very soon. I have BAD BAD dentist anxiety. I'm not afraid of the needles, not afraid it might hurt, etc. I watched a youtube video on a live root canal and seems pretty quick and my dentist promised me it's way easier than what he has done to me (Bad teeth genetics = HOURS in a dental chair being tortured lol). The procedure itself didn't bother me & I know the procedure wont make me sick.
But just watching the video made me gag multiple times. Because of the dental dam they were using. I can't do dental dams or anything like that. I have had 4 hours of work done just holding my mouth open on my own. The dental dams cause me such great anxiety. I feel like I can't swallow and when I am anxious I swallow hard and a lot, and of course I will be anxious. And it's weird but I correlate having my mouth open like that with getting sick. Like my body will be like "oh okay she wants to throw up" lol Like if you stare at a toilet when you're n* it can sometimes bring it on for people when they are sick. (Sorry if that triggered anything) When I get anxious I am very tight lipped and i keep my jaw clenched and tightly shut, so having my mouth forced open like that..not good. I also feel like I am choking on my own saliva with those things.
I'm afraid I am going to make a fool of myself when I go. My personal dentist is used to it. We have a system, he knows me, and I trust him fully. He wont do a root canal though, so I have to see a specialist and I honestly feel bad FOR HER. I am a terrible patient. My mom told me I just need to grow up when I expressed concern...and I guess I do. She said to do what I want, let my teeth "rot out" since I don't care. I was kinda upset because even "normal" people have dental anxiety especially with things like root canals. And obviously I care or I wouldn't be so diligent with my teeth and have all this crap done. So I was hoping to get some support here.
I know to breathe in through your nose to help not gag, but i can't seem to focus on it. Is there anything else I can do too? any tips from those who have had them? I don't even know which tooth needs it honestly, but I have a bad feeling it's a far back tooth, top of my mouth..so not easily accessed :/
“Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”
“We are the girls with anxiety disorders, filled appointment books, five-year plans. We take ourselves very, very seriously. We are the peacemakers, the do-gooders, the givers, the savers. We are on time, overly prepared, well read, and witty, intellectually curious, always moving. We pride ourselves on getting as little sleep as possible and thrive on self-deprivation. We drink coffee, a lot of it. We are on birth control, Prozac, and multivitamins. We are relentless, judgmental with ourselves, and forgiving to others. We never want to be as passive-aggressive as our mothers, never want to marry men as uninspired as our fathers. We are the daughters of the feminists who said, “You can be anything,” and we heard, “You have to be everything.”