As someone who has avoided a dentist's office for 32 years, due to utter terror, i would say that…read moreTurnagain Dental are able to deal with the wimpiest of patients. Due to my avoidance of dental offices, i had 4 broken molars, where pieces had been crumbling off for the past few years, and it was only due to the fact that i started experiencing pain, that i forced myself to go. I had toothache, not agonizing, but moderate, for 5 full months before i plucked up the courage to call and make an appointment, and i was utterly terrified, let me tell you.
I had my initial exam, and i was shaking in the chair. Having avoided treatment for 32 years comes with consequences, and as such i needed 5 fillings in my upper teeth, and the 4 broken molars - Dr. Kennedy recommended extraction under IV sedation, for which i was referred to Anchorage Oral and Implant Surgery.
I was to come in the following day for my fillings, and i was told to come at 10, for a pre-med, as i had asked for one. By the time i went for the appointment at 10, i was somewhat calmer, and told Jordynn, i didn't think i needed the pre-med. She said I'd still be given the Nitrous Oxide, and as I didn't need the pre-med, i was to return at 11am, which I did.
I had the Nitrous, and a couple of injections in my upper gums -- nice that they put a numbing jelly on, prior to injecting. However, the REAL injection - the one that prevented me from returning for treatment for 32 years, is the one that gets injected right into the hinge of your jaw, and feels like an electric shock - i was not required to have that one, fortunately. Dr Kennedy was very fast with my 5 fillings that i needed. It was all over with in less than an hour.
A couple of weeks following the offending molars being extracted, i called the office, and asked when i needed to come in, and start work on a partial denture. Jordynn told me i needed to get my deep cleaning first. I was actually quite horrified when she mentioned that a deep cleaning requires numbing also. I did not know this, and i of course Googled what a deep cleaning entailed, and was even more anxious to read that they're going to use an ultrasonic THING to go below the gumline and break up calculus, that had been building for 32 years. Gross. I made my appointment and Erin was the hygienist. She did an examination where she went around prodding and dictating into a program, how receding my gums were.
And then got started. To be fair, the upper right hand side of my teeth went fairly ok, and i couldn't really feel much, but it was very lengthy, took an hour and a half, and i believe the calculus was quite difficult to break down. We scheduled a second visit for the upper left, and this was more unpleasant. Erin had ordered a product containing sulphuric acid to help break down the calculus. SO that was a little less work. But 3 of the teeth refused to numb (And i had the maximum anesthetic, i think i had 6 or 7 in my gums and another 2 in the roof of my mouth) but these 3teeth just wouldn't numb for some reason. Anyway, we got them done, despite me jumping frequently.
The bottom teeth - i had 1 wisdom tooth left on the left side - Erin came at me with the syringe, and. Stopped her and said "Is that THE injection?" Meaning the horrible one into jaw hinge. I told her, THAT injection had stopped me coming to dentist for 32 years. She said ok, and gave me gum injections instead, and it was fine, it didn't hurt. I had some sensitivity with my 2 bottom front teeth but we got there in the end.
She is thorough, and the difference in my teeth (I was a former smoker, the backs of my teeth were brown, but are now white) is EPIC. I 100% recommend Erin, and Turnagain Dental, if you're a wimp like me.
