i havent been to the dentist in years, i am scared to death, i am 40 years old and i have some dental pain and i know sometimes i have bad breath

Please go, it will only get worse if you don't do anything. You might have the beginning stages of periodontal disease, if you have a problem with bad breath. If you haven't had a dental cleaning in a long time, there is most likely plaque build up under your gumline and that traps nasty bacteria that causes bad breath. I would ask everyone I know for recommendations and also I strongly recommend sedation denistry! I have had problems in the past getting numb and when I had to have a lot of work done, I went this route and loved it, felt no pain!
Good luck to you!

The sedation I had for my regular work was conscious sedation, which you should have no problem with. You are not "out", you are just not concerned with what is happening with your teeth, as strange as that sounds. You take a pill in the morning before you go see the dentist and they give you more when you are there. A co-worker of my husband had it done also and loved it, he is a smoker. I would google your location and conscious sedation and see which dentists in your area do this.

Yes, the number one reason to go to a dentist is so they can do an Xray.
They can tell you instantly whats wrong with your teeth.
Also, I agree you definitely need a teeth cleaning.
You should do this atleast once a year.
If you haven't gotten your teeth cleaned in like 5 to 10 years.
Your going to have tons of dental plaque.
Hopefully they can get it off.
Dental plaque is the main cause of tooth decay, gum disease and cavities.
You might have alot of cavities.
If you dont get fillings for those cavities, you might need a root canal.
If the tooth is really bad, it will have to be removed.
But please go to the dentist as soon as possible.

Hi I totally agree...conscious sedation is the way to go...you
just need to have someone drive you there and someone to
drive you home.....no more anxiety and you are not knocked
out....you just are not concerned what the dentist does...so
no fear.....go to a dentist that does this and you will keep
up on your dental check ups and loose the fear.....Karen