I need help being brave!

You can do it! Just think, if you managed to get through it in November then you'll do it this time. I use to be so scared of the dentist, I also use to have someone who would always moan about my teeth, who funnily enough had awful teeth himself! Anyway, I changed dentist as I had chipped my tooth eating sweets when I was about 19 :-[ I was petrified, especially when she said I needed to have a filling, she numbed me up & all was fine & I trust her now. I know it's hard, but try not to think about it, this person sounds much nicer then the one you had when you was younger. You'll be okay  *hugs*

You can do it! Try to focus on maybe doing something nice after its over? Also, I used to have a dentist that would put a numbing gel type thing on my gums before I had the injection, ask if they could use that? And I know this is going to sound silly to most, but when there are sounds or sensations or moments of quick pain that I don't like, I sing along to songs in my head to stop me focasing on it so much, maybe that could help you? Good luck you will be fine! xx

Oh, yes, he's SO much nicer than the hygienist. My old dentist was a family friend and also lovely. My fear all stems from the shouting from the hygienist, her shouting, and the initial look of disappointment as she thought that I hadn't listened to what she was telling me yet again, and the pain that came with it. This dentist does it all and as it's a private practice, he's used to people with various phobias (though he said mine aren't what he's used to lol) and is happy to take time to make me comfortable. Which is good. He let me listen to music on my phone too, so some of the sound was drowned out.

I'm feeling a bit better now though, thank you!

Oh, Glitter, I have no problem with the injection at all. It's funny because I can hardly feel them at all. When they take my blood in the doctors they always have to mess around to find a vein for ages and they laugh at me because I don't care if they wiggle the needle around in my arm, I can hardly feel it! Yet ask me to hold an upright vacuum cleaner that has a lot of vibration and I'll run the other way screaming! (might be a slight exaggeration there 😉 )

Oh, Glitter, I have no problem with the injection at all.

Ah I see! It's so good that your dentist lets you listen to music, he sounds really understanding. Have you been yet or is it later? 

Just got back now.

Wasn't too bad, well, no, it was horrible but I coped. I was so nervous going in. I have a heart rate monitor on my watch now and my resting heart rate is about 55-65 (I'm not as fit as I sound, my family all have low blood pressure and a low heart rate!) and as I was sat in the waiting room it was about 95! Once I had part of the de scaling done it got up to 120!!! From just sitting there at being in pain lol I was in pain because we decided to try initially without the injections as he said it's a quick session today, so lets try it. I was quick and I managed to stand it by listening to music, clenching my fists around each other, waggling my feet a lot and crying like a baby 😉 I did almost hyperventilate at one point, but I've done that so often in the past that I can feel it coming now and breath properly to stop it. The nice thing is, he'll stop if I put my hand up.

So, all in all, I know it's going to be really hard to deal with the pain each time (and even the polish made me squirm which surprised the dentist) I can do it if I just let myself cry, try not to hold it in because that's a sure fire way of making me hyperventilate and be much worse!

I know I'm late to cheer you on but just wanted to say good for you for being so brave and going through with it. I'm so sorry it was a rough experience for you; I felt so awful for you just reading it.  :'( I don't personally have any serious dental anxiety and have had good experiences with dentists and orthodontists but know it isn't the norm for everyone. Really, short of having someone working on your, um, plumbing it's about as intimate as you can get without being in a relationship with someone! I think the most important thing is for the dentist and hygienist to recognize that each patient is a unique mix of genetics, lifestyle, pain tolerance, personality, and past dental and life experiences and can treat accordingly. In the US there are practices that focus specifically on patients with dental anxiety and we have sedation dentistry, not sure if that is common overseas or not. Even for just a cleaning my dentist's office offers a topical solution to numb the gums and I know they have nitrous oxide but I've never asked about it. Anyway! Hope you are feeling better and got yourself a little treat as a reward.