Hello. I am 40 years old. My problems and fear of the dentist go back to childhood. My parents never took me to the dentist, only when I was already in severe pain and a tooth had to be extracted. The school dentist was not exactly suitable for working with children either, because besides the fact that I was always brought to her when I was already in pain, she also had a very negative psychological effect on me with various comments about the condition of my teeth. So by the age of twenty most of my teeth were already completely ruined. I gathered my courage and money and a private dentist did whatever could still be done. A bridge in the upper front, extractions below... terrible. Once it was over, again and again I could not gather the courage for another visit. In my head I still think that it will hurt a lot and that the dentist will be disgusted by me... For some time now I have been preparing myself mentally to finally have whatever can be fixed put in order. I would like to know whether I can expect a proper, respectful attitude without blame, treatment without severe pain, and what possibility there is to pay in installments? In the lower jaw I have my own teeth 1–4, then on the right they are extracted, and on the left there is still tooth 8. In the upper jaw I have my own teeth 3 and 4 on the left and 5 and 7 on the right, with a bridge in the front. The bridge serves me well, although I have always had a shifted bite; only the gum has receded, especially around tooth 1 and tooth 3. Let me also say that once, when I managed in the meantime to gather the courage to visit a dentist, when I asked what could be done about the receding gums he simply told me that what is, is, and when it starts hurting everything will have to be thrown out (exactly like that!!). I apologize for the long explanation and thank you for your answer. I truly wish to have a beautiful smile. Kind regards
Dentist Tomaž Rotar answers:
Dear Sir/Madam!
We deal with patients’ fear every day. From the patient’s point of view, fear is always justified. The mouth is an important emotional zone; a person’s first contact with food, with life... We enter this emotional sanctuary with cold, noisy instruments that vibrate, rotate and, ultimately, also cause pain. From this perspective it is certainly completely normal for a visit to the dentist to be unpleasant. How intense the negative feelings are, however, depends on many other factors. They may originate from the person affected (every person has their own response to what is described above) or from the surroundings (the dentist’s work, the clinical environment, the difficulty of the procedure...). With such intense fear of dental procedures, both sides definitely need to make an effort; the patient should convince themselves that the procedures are necessary and in their own interest, while the dentist should ensure friendly staff, a short waiting time in the waiting room and professional work under anesthesia. The result is satisfactory in most cases and to everyone’s satisfaction. If you would like additional information, call us.
Have a nice day!