I have severe dental phobia. I mean severe. It’s rooted in childhood dental trauma that I don’t need to burden y’all with. But I have a full blown panic attack and cry even just to get cleanings. 

As such the second I was let off my parents hook I haven’t gone to the dentist since. I felt lucky with the pandemic, in that it was a great excuse to avoid the dentist for a year without family and such being judgy. But now I think I might need to go. 

I have reason to believe that an old cavity filling of mine might be coming loose. General discomfort on the tooth and it feels like food is stuck with nothing being there, and such. Idk I don’t know much about teeth at all but I suspect my filling is becoming loose. I don’t want to go but I think I should at least for a consultation to see what’s up. I found a local place that has good reviews and has multiple anxiety sedation options. 

I just don’t know if I can go through with it since I am electing these things and whatnot. Also I’m worried they are going to say my teeth are way worse than I think they are and I need 10 other procedures cause that’s what my old dentist did. And I have a severe mistrust of dentists so I don’t even know if I can believe what this man will tell me even if I have good reviews and I think he will be judgy and rude. 

And my parents aren’t gonna wanna pay for the sedation (I am still on there insurance) they don’t understand my dental phobia even though they were there for the trauma they just tell me to get over it already because it was a decade ago. 

Any support or ideas of how I could get through this? My tooth only started bothering me today so maybe it’ll go away but I have a feeling it won’t