Dentist Phobia - Phobias Message Board

makeworldgoaway · 03-12-2009, 07:43 PM

I was never taken to a dentist as a child & grew up with a fear of going. About 5 years ago I got a toothache so bad I eventually wasn't sleeping, I would sit up in bed at night & cry, Anbesol did no good.

so, shaking, I called a dentist & got in to see one. He said he could pull the tooth right then. I was terrified, but knew I had to do something. He gave me the shot to numb the pain & while he waited for it to take effect my heart started racing like crazy.

This really scared me & I thought it was due to my fear so I was working on calming myself down, deep breathing etc. I seemed to be calming down pretty good but the racing heart continued for several minutes!

I didn't feel the extraction at all, I was elated! And no more pain, I was sleeping at night!

Well I fell away from going to the dentist, again. Now I have at least one bad tooth I'd like to get pulled. In December the bad pain started & I would gargle with salt water, eventually the pain stopped in my mouth but now it has moved to my head.

I have headaches daily, all the time, I can't remember when I last didn't have a headache. I know I need to go to a dentist but I am scared of the racing heart, scared I will have a heart attack. Oh, I forgot to say that after I had the tooth pulled I had 3 appointments for teeth cleanings & because my teeth were so bad they again gave me that shot for numbing & each time my heart would race for 5, 10 minutes. I told the dentist after the second time & he said it happens to some people & he could give me a local I think he said? But then it might wear off before the work was done, this scared me so I stayed with the racing heart shot.

but as time has passed & I'm older & had longer to be fearful, ha ha, I am scared to go & either have my heart race (heart attack possibly?) or they use something else that doesn't work.

I recently heard about oral sedation but frankly I'm not sure I trust that...I really want something to just block the pain-but without my heart racing.

Does anyone know of anything so that I could feel if I made an appointment they might be able to help me without the racing heart?

Thank you!

taape · 03-12-2009, 10:53 PM

Maybe your medical doctor could prescribe some type of medication for anxiety like Valium to take before your appointments. But you might need someone to drive you then because it makes one drowsy and relaxed. Good luck with this.

Stribe · 03-13-2009, 07:23 AM

The reason your heart races is because most local anesthesia has epinepherine in it to prolong the effect. It does have the effect of increasing your heart rate. If you do not have an underlying heart problem this is perfectly safe and will NOT cause a heart attack. However, there are locals without epi and if the heart racing bothers you that much you can ask for local without the epi. It will not last as long, but most dentists should be able to work fast enough to use it (30-60min).