25 years of fear of the dentists taken away in 5 visits. 3 different Dentist saw me. First one gave me assurance and no pressure to do more than necessary.
1st: Examined X-rays. Calmly told what was needed. Cleared up any uncertainties on current state of my teeth. Was able to take the time to explain my last dental visit (25) years ago and how my teeth health declined over the years - to the current condition it was in. I was not badgered, judged, ridiculed, or dismissed for my bad dental habits. I admit I eat sweets and don't rinse or brush in between meals, just in the morning and before sleep time. Explained what each visit would entail. Gave options on how to proceed. Ended with "No pressure. We will try our best to make it as easy as possible and hopefully you'll consider us".
2nd: It was communicated to the next doctor that I have a deathly fear of needles. I don't care what the rest of the world thinks. When seeing or even thinking of a needle, I imagine an unsteady hand stabbing it in the wrong place only to pull it out with blood gushing all over the place. Fortunately, this was understood by the doctor and I was able to get my deep cleaning without needles. The process was steady and not rushed. I was asked every step of the way if I wanted to proceed and how I was feeling. In the end I was sat down for a summary. I had time to ask as many questions as I needed. It was asked of me to check on my gum health for swelling or bleeding. They will follow up on next visit.
3rd: Gum health improved noticibly. Finished up last session with some light cleaning, no deep cleaning this time. Encourage me to keep using WaterPik floss machine and rinse my mouth with water in-between meals. Mentally helped me prepare for the next visit which would involve the infamous "needle"!! Oh boy. I dreaded this for the last 25 years. However, it had to be done since I needed 7 fillings, 1 new cap, 1 old cap replaced and possibly a root canal. I was also suffering nerve pain in my upper left side. Because a tooth was left thin and exposing too much gum.
4th: Right side fillings and preparation for a new cap. The Dentist this time asked politely if I would put my trust in them. I was asked to close my eyes and count slowly backward from 100. First they put on the numbing cream, no problem. My mouth was gently massaged as a small stream of cool water/air hit the spot of the injection. I believe this was to distract from the actual injection. Either way, I was extremely aware of all this as it was happening. By the time 95 was up I was asked "how did it go?". Honestly, it was still very scary for me. As for the pain, there was no pain! Unbelievable.
5th: Finished up filling on left side. I had a huge gap on the tooth that was giving me nerve pains. It was methodically filled in and cured layer by layer. That makes me feel like care was put into it. All other filling were also done on that side. Not sure how many fillings I had on which side. At this point I was just thrilled I got great treatment. Since I mentally prepared myself and already had a needle from the last treatment, it was such a relief to know I can now safely visit dentist again. I told the doctor, "It just feels like somebody poking you.". I thought there would be a really sharp pinch. The reality was it felt like a friend poking you with their fingernail.
* If done properly, the needle should not hurt or even scare you. I'm sure I sounded like a broken record to them when I expressed my concerns. I can tell they communicated well with the previous doctors and already knew what kind of patient they were dealing with. I believe the entire staff is trained well and acts with professionalism. They treat their patients with respect and care for them. There are doctors who have worked there for over 20 years and still have pride in what they do. This place is not sloppy. It is the opposite.
Some essential criteria all dental practices should have answers to:
1. Describe pain level during procedures.
2. Describe pain level after procedure and how to deal with it.
3. Explain how long it may take to recover from pain.
4. Recommend course of action to prevent repeat procedures. Eg. redo deep cleaning
5. Recommend absolute necessary procedures to maintain long health teeth vs optional procedures. Eg. Are fillings good enough or do you need " crown or cap"
6. With good dental hygiene vs bad hygiene, how long will your work last before I have to go back in to redo it.
All these concerns and questions were met optimally. After checking with some Internet research, I praise this practice for giving no nonsense accurate answers. I hope you can sense from the tone and possible grammar inconsistency that it was not written with AI or using Grammarly. If you don't believe this to be authentic, feel free to message me and I will gladly share more. read more
