Snao Cone Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 So, regarding visits to the dentist and getting routine dental checkups or minor dental work, what is your disposition? (This is not about what you think of your dentist as a person or the profession of dentistry overall — it's about your attitude towards being engaged in the act of dentistry as a patient.) (Edit: work done by dental hygienists absolutely counts, as they are a valid part of the field or dentistry/on the dentist spectrum) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starfarer Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 I am dentistry-averse, I guess. I do not like going at all, but I will do if necessary. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KVA1983 Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 Definitely dentist-averse. I'll go if necessary but it's the drill sound that freaks me out. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iff Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 (edited) I have a lot of respect for dentists. They decided "hey I want to spend the next 40 years looking inside people's mouths" so fair play to them. I don't even like looking at my own teeth and mouth. I do my regular check up. I think it works out at every 7 months, not because I particularly like the dentist but I use my teeth all the time, nearly daily. Edited January 10 by iff 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frameshift07 Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 Just need to get an appointment with them in the first place. Will get back to you in 1-2 business years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloomy Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 I’m okay with going as long as I don’t have to do any X-rays. I have mandibular tori so biting down on the stupid plastic thing really hurts and they always have to retake the pictures a bunch of times. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uhtred Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 Novocaine doesn't really work on me, so some dental work is very painful. (If a cavity is being filled, I can feel when the drill bit goes through the enamel and into the live tooth. I also have bad coffee stains that hygienists always want to clean which is both uncomfortable and I worry is eroding the enamel of my teeth. Fortunately I have very few tooth problems, so dentist visits are pretty rare. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceebs Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 Indifferent to dentists specifically I think, but then also averse to most medical appointments in general just because they're tedious and rarely useful and I have a hard time getting out to actually make it to them. So I don't know if they makes me indifferent or averse. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue eyes white dragon Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 Dentist favorable but I haven't gone in years 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rynn Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 Mildly averse, I guess. I'd rather be doing most other things, but I don't really mind much. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petunia.the.plant Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 I wouldn't say I like going to the dentist, but I don't mind it. When I was a kid my parents would book dentist appointments on school days so I could have the day off, and I think it tricked me into not dreading it. Its probably also helped that I've never had a super painful experience at the dentist. Sure, sometimes the scratching on your teeth is uncomfortable, but its never been painful (at least in my experience), and whenever I've had to get a procedure done, whatever numbing thing they've given me has always done it's job. Though, I might be getting my wisdom teeth taken out soon, so my opinion on dentists is probably going to change... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atreides Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 Straight up dentophobia in my case. Just the thought of going to the dentist makes me very anxious. I need tranquillisers or general anaesthesia (depending on how long it’s going to be the appointment) before any visit to the clinic. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KuraTheChibiSleepingBeauty Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 I'm dentist-repulsed to the point that even just thinking about it makes me incredibly anxious and full of dread. If I had a choice between getting to eat any kind of food with no consequences, or never having to go to the dentist ever again, I'd probably pick the latter. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olallieberry Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 I’ve had severe problems with my teeth and been through so many invasive procedures, starting at a young age, that I value the work they do and shudder to think what condition my head would be in without them. I’m also good at enduring the discomfort and outright pain at times. My fucked-up teeth aren’t the fault of any dentist. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceebs Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 Yeah as long as I don't feel like my life is in danger, and even though I'm pretty sensitive to pain, I can white-knuckle it through unpleasant procedures. Almost three years ago I had every single one of my natural teeth ripped out of my skull with only local anaesthesia. I was crying and yelling in pain and there was blood all over, and yeah it was pretty awful, but it hasn't deeply affected me. I have pretty intense medical trauma stuff going on from some actually life-threatening and scary experiences about 20 years ago, and this was virtually nothing in comparison. I figure if I was going to become terrified of the dentist, I would've by now. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snao Cone Posted January 10 Author Share Posted January 10 I'm normally fine with it, but I went today and it felt much worse and less tolerable than it has in the past. Maybe my gums were more sensitive. Maybe it was because it was a different hygienist. I'm generally indifferent but I think I might be veering towards averse. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slajmy Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 Favorable. I never miss an appointment and my teeth are perfect. Want to keep it that way. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovely_xm07 Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 I’m weirdly kind of dentist-favorable. I enjoy getting my teeth cleaned by a professional and then treated if needed. I have lots of teeth and needed some to be taken out. It had helped my mouth out a lot. My teeth are still very crooked though. Not that bad in my opinion, but I’d like to get them fixed because sometimes their strange placements bug me. I’d like to get braces, but I don’t think I’ll be getting them soon. Sometimes they do scare me when they get out the scraper to clean the teeth. I get worried they’ll accidentally hit my gums. Ouch 😣 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tystie Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 I hate going to the dentist but I make sure I don’t miss any routine checks. If anything needs done I’d rather catch it as early as possible. So I go regularly as a way to manage my fear. (Remind me to tell you the story sometime of how my tooth cracked in the middle of a fancy, shmancy awards dinner, broke the following morning just before I was going to fly to Shetland,, and how I spent the first day of my holiday first day trying to track down an emergency dentist.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muledeer Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 I'm dentist favorable. I've never had a bad experience. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasticdinosaur Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 I'm Indifferent. I realize that the dentist and dentist's assistants are just trying to do their job, but whenever I have to go to the dentist the assistants are like overly nice and I find it really weird. They're just trying to make me feel more comfortable, but I absolutely despise it when people call me things like "sweetie" or "sweetheart." Also when I was younger they would always give me a pink toothbrush because I had to have a "girl color" and that rubbed me the wrong way. Other than that I don't really mind going to the dentist. It's just another thing I have to do in life, and I don't want my teeth to rot, so- 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cat_lady Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 I'm diligent about having routine checkups, but I have a lot of anxiety about going to the dentist after having an awful dentist. Even with the good dentist that I have now, appointments are painful and I end up with a headache for the rest of the day. Does anyone else experience terrible pain from having to hold your mouth open for a long time? That's honestly one of the most painful things about dental appointments for me, but I've never heard anyone else talk about it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveb Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 I don't have a problem with dentists/dental workers as people. I find most are there because they actually want to help, and some will even listen to patient concerns. But I am very averse to dental work (and to dental bills, especially when health insurance denies a claim weeks or months later). I hate the taste of some of the compounds and stuff they use for things such as taking molds. I hate the sound of the drill. I hate the feeling I'm going to drown or have water go down the wrong pipe. I hate the pain when numbing agents are injected and the pain when they start to wear off. If I could have them knock me out, do the work, and then let me wake up after it's all over, I would much prefer that. They do that for animals; why not for people who need it? (but, of course, that isn't covered by insurance) So what happens? I tend to put off checkups, and usually wait until there is a problem I can't ignore, although occasionally I will manage to get in for a general checkup/cleaning in spite of my aversion. Then that reminds me of why I am averse and I avoid it again for a long while. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rat Lady Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 I saw Little Shop of Horrors, I know what's up. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soul Searcher Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 I am indifferent to dentists. Don't love going to one, but don't hate either. It's just 'meh' for me now. But here is this incident that I will talk about - I had to undergo root canal treatment a couple of years ago. The pain was bothering me too much anytime I had something cold. Tried to out it off for days, until I just had to go. The dentist that was there- I have great dose of respect for him. The entire procedure, and I do mean the entire RCT procedure did not give me any pain. Well, except the part where I was given anesthesia via an injection straight to my gums. The procedure took around half an hour maybe, and all during the time, my mouth was numb and I did not feel anything. He did it so professionally and in such a great manner that I did not even think like anything was happening. At one instance, I had 3-4 needles pinned straight to my root canal (I am not familiar with how RCT is done, and I do not care about that enough to research). So, I only knew about the needles after he plucked them out one by one and I counted, and saw him putting those pins in a tray. I could not even believe my eyes that those were inside my teeth. So, that was probably the most severe treatment that I have had got at a dentist and it felt nothing. So, kudos to him! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olallieberry Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 1 hour ago, Soul Searcher said: the entire RCT procedure did not give me any pain. Well, except the part where I was given anesthesia via an injection straight to my gums When I was like 16, the local hometown dentist gave me anesthetic shots which were absolutely intolerable - and I needed four teeth treated for a congenital thinning of the enamel. So, think BIG fillings. Well, the shot hurt worse than the drilling, so, I had seven out of eight procedures done without anesthetic. Later in life, I could see other dentists' eyes pop when I told them No to the shot and to just get on with the drilling - because these same teeth later needed bigger and bigger fillings, and then caps. This weakened the teeth further and they all cracked over time. By the time they subsequently needed root canals and crowns, and ultimately one fully broken tooth and an exploratory oral-surgery extraction to get all the broken pieces out, and a bone graft and an implant, I was taking the shots - and came to understand what a complete buffoon the original dentist was. I'm just glad one kind dentist insisted that I should try it and that it was utterly abnormal for the shot to hurt worse than the drilling. Root canal and surgery? Forget it - I couldn't have gone through with it if there hadn't been anesthesia. And wouldn't you know it - it turns out that most dentists, endodontists and oral surgeons can give a shot like a normal human being. I have had a couple of more-minor procedures where I elected to skip the anesthesia not because of fear of shot pain, but just because it would be more convenient than having a numb face the rest of the day, and I knew I could take it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verily-forsooth-egads Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 Definitely indifferent. I'm not suffering or having fun, just lying back and thinking of England. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Not-24 Memphis Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 I've always loved going to the dentist, which is why I was ecstatic to have that visit in November of last year. I don't have dental insurance, so I paid cash, and I did NOT love the price. I would go to the dentist far more if those visits weren't so expensive. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. van Deijck Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 I'm scared of dentists to the point it's like a phobia, where does this place me? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Almighty Rat Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 I just am terrified of dentists because my biggest fears in the world is cavities (dentist tell you when you have them). So I suppose adverse? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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