I need to go to the dentist...

[kayelle]

My wisdom tooth is coming up, and the left side of my jaw is really stiff and is sore when I open it fully. I can't diagnose myself, but I'm guessing that I'm going to have to get it removed, which completely freaks me out! Not the pain in the dentist, but the having to sit there in an appointment for half an hour, stuck there in the chair, and having no option of leaving because I have a tooth half out!
Any advice? At the moment I can go to the doctors, and go the therapy every week and I can go out generally, but definitely not to somewhere I'd feel trapped, like a hairdresser's or...the dentist!
Dang, I'm so worried about it!

 

[turko]

you need to tell the dentists how you are feeling before you go. so they know how you feel, and don't be ashamed of letting them know. often may people take sedatives to help them cope going to the dentist. good luck

 

[SilentType]

Yeah if you're getting a wisdom tooth out you'll only even notice your social anxiety until they strap that magic mask on your face to gas you out. You wake up not feeling anything except a cotton stuffed mouth and some potent chemical concoction. I just got two of mine out like 6 months ago so trust me lol. If you're not getting anesthesia then I got no advice for ya...


Peace

 

[Hoth]

Having had a couple teeth removed, a gum graft, a crown, and about 7000 fillings (up to 14 needed after a biannual cleaning)... I'm still scared of my dentist appointments even though I'm not agoraphobic. All I can say is that you'll live and dentists are used to most of their patients being terrified.

You could wait it out a couple days though. I have a tooth that's been partly-in for 15 years, which they told me to get pulled a few years ago, and which swells up painfully for a couple days every few months. It always dies back down to normal though, so I prefer it over an extraction which the oral surgeon described as having a risk of breaking my jaw or causing permanent nerve damage (since the tooth is fused to bone).