The fear of dentist

I have a fear.....a terrible terrible fear of the dentist.  I try not to show it, but the hives that pop up are a clear give away that I'm feeling some stress, on the inside.  


I panic even when I get my teeth cleaned...now that's bad.


My mom and I were talking about Dr. Habacker, from Paducah.  He was my dentist when I was a child.  We were so.very.poor.  but my mom insisted that we go to the best dentist and one that will do a good job.  Kudos to mom.  He was gentle and kind.  He was patient and wonderful.  I have no idea where this fear comes from because Dr. Habacker was the quietest, most gentle dentist EVER.


I worked up enough courage to schedule an appt to get my teeth cleaned (after way too many years).  I did good, it didn't take long, but I could feel the tension in my body and I realized that I was griping the handles of chair and that my breathing was incredibly fast.  I was telling myself to relax and calm down.  Then, it was over.


Alas, I had to have all these old fillings replaced :/  Panic.  I had to have a crown.  Panic central.  I resolved myself to the fact that it had to be done, so I wanted as few appts as humanly possible to get them finished.


Today, was my right side.  2 fillings, very deep, that had to be replaced.  One on top, one on bottom.  My new dentist, Dr. Lebaron (amazing) was so kind.  He knew that I was panicking and he literally talked to me the whole time telling me what he was doing. He allowed me to shut my mouth, to relax my jaws every few minutes. It was painless, yet...I panicked.  I could feel myself getting hot, my feet started sweating, I couldn't breathe, my head was hurting...the beginning of a full blown panic attack.  Again, I talked to myself and reassured myself that I was fine, it didn't. He was doing good, not harm.  He was nice, the hygienist was nice...I was fine...over and over and over, till the magic words of YOU ARE DONE.  Less than an hour and I was so tense and worked up I didn't know whether I was washing or hanging out.


I decided that getting 2 more fillings replaced and a crown was not in the cards for me, so I separated my appts up.  I have them timed down to the second of how long I will be in that chair and I actually like my dentist.  I can do that...next appt is the end of this month.


Moral:  go to the dentist every 6 mths (worth it for the free toothbrush), brush, floss, take care of your teeth and for the love of all that is good...RELAX.


Blessings.