I’m scared to go to the dentist – When you haven’t been to the dentist in years | Adulting Journals

So I’m going to be honest… I am one of those people that haven’t been to the dentist in years and I am terrified.

Unfortunately last month I ended up having an issue with my teeth or I should say gums. I was eating some food, a stir fry with rice that I made.. and I added my favorite spicy sauce to it.. Szechaun.

It’s one of my favorite things in the world. It’s super hot, but it tastes so delicious. I could pour it on vegetables whether they’re cooked or raw and be completely content with life.

Well I added some Szechaun sauce to my stir fry and within a minute my gums were aching horribly. The whole bottom part of my gums on the left side of my mouth felt inflammed and it was this awful pain. It was so horrible to the point where I pretty much cried myself to sleep.

I knew right then that I’d have to make an appointment to go to the dentist which I was dreading.

I’m scared to go to the dentist – When you haven’t been to the dentist in years | Adulting Journals

I haven’t been to the dentist since either high school or middle school. Keep in mind.. I turn 30 this year so that is a long time. I feel like it’s been maybe 15 years to be honest.

I don’t really have any excuses for not going… well actually I do… I always figured dental work of any was expensive and I’ve never honestly been in the financial position to go.

Actually…. that’s a lie. I have had moments when I had money to go… but I never did.

I grew up in a family that pretty much wasn’t too concerned about going to the dentist even though we had dental insurance and I was on my mom’s insurance. I don’t know why we didn’t regularly try to go.. it’s just something that we didn’t really focus on.

It was always,

“Go to the doctor and eye doctor every year.”

That was pretty much it.

Thinking about it though… I guess that would explain most people having dentures or needing excessive dental work done on their teeth later in life.

So I guess it’s good that I’m going to hopefully be in the mindset to go regularly after this appointment I have today.. even though I have a ton of anxiety right now.

Making my appointment and thinking about the cost

I went on the search for dentists near me… only to be turned down multiple times because the offices would share with me that they didn’t take my insurance.

I realized that only certain dentists take my insurance which left me feeling miserable as well as depressed. I hope to reach a point in my life where I have the best insurance for freaking everything because then I’ll know that I’ve truly made it in life.

It took me a few days to find a dentist that took my insurance… when I say days, I mean I probably called 10-15 dentist offices for 3 days. I finally found one which i was very happy about.

Until I started thinking about the cost..

I know one of the things I’m worried about is having to pay out of pocket for anything as well as just the pain of going to the dentist.

I decided to head on over to my insurance website to check out my plan to see what was covered..

For the most part I can get almost anything done, but root canals, braces, cosmetic work in general, or probably anything super extensive.

I am wondering if there is a cap on how many cavity fillings are covered. Let’s hope I don’t have too many cavities though.

Thinking about the pain and having cavities

I actually have a pretty high pain tolerance considering I’ve had my appendix about to burst and I ended up cutting my foot on glass and having to have stitches a few years ago.

However, I feel like teeth and gum pain is different.

I keep feeling like I’ll have to get some fillings and even some root canals. I know that if you can’t get a root canal, they pretty much just want to remove the tooth altogether which I honestly don’t want if I can help it.

I’m also concerned about being able to eat which I’m laughing about as I’m writing this because I want to be able to eat food once I get out of that appointment.

My boyfriend mentioned that when he first went to the dentist, his gums felt super sensitive for maybe 2 or 3 hours then he was fine about eating.

When I think about my teeth journey… To my knowledge.. I don’t think I’ve ever had cavities, but I’m pretty sure I have some now.

How I know I have some issues with my teeth

I’ve never been a sweets or dessert type of person.

However I know once I became an actual adult, I started drinking a lot of juice and pop.

My mom didn’t give me too many sweets or pop drinks when I was younger so when I got older..

I was pretty much on a,

“Well I’m grown so I can drink however much pop or juice I want.”

It actually became a big problem.

I remember my boyfriend looking at me like,

“You drink a lot of juice and pop.. Maybe you should slow down on it so we can live long together and be healthy.”

I actually realized I was kind of addicted to sweet drinks, but after my gum pain last month..

I don’t really drink much juice or pop anymore.

I went from drinking daily juice and pop at least twice a day to not drinking any for 1 or 2 weeks which I’m proud of myself for…

But within that.. one of the things I noticed is that my teeth on the left side of my mouth are highly sensitive to cold and hot drinks now.

So I just know I’m going to have a couple of cavities or maybe even need to get some root canals which I am dreading since those are extremely expensive.

I’m also dreading them telling me I need to get teeth pulled. I don’t want to unless I absolutely have no choice.

How I’m feeling and what has been somewhat helping me with my dental anxiety

I just feel terrified and anxious.

I also feel paranoid because I feel like my gums are aching for no reason now and it’s all mental which I don’t like..

I ended up watching a couple of Youtube videos with people going to the dentist for the first time in years…

I’ll link some of the ones I watched down below…

But watching these videos did make me feel a bit better about the process.

Also talking to my boyfriend about how it felt when he went to the dentist helped too.

Brushing my teeth and flossing consistently has helped me feel a bit better about this process throughout the month..

I’ve actually done pretty well with flossing my teeth for the most part over the years.

I figure it won’t hurt too much… as far as them flossing my teeth at the dentist.

I know I have some plaque build up on maybe 3 specific teeth, but it doesn’t look like I have any anywhere else which I’m happy about.

For the most part, I just feel a ton of worry about pain and payment.

I really wish dental work wasn’t so expensive, but I understand why after doing some research about how infections can lead to other issues within your body like heart disease.

I also feel like they’re going to say I have gingivitis or periodontal disease since with the way my genetics is setup… that’s what a decent amount of people have in my family.

So there’s that.

I’m hoping for the best while also somewhat preparing for the worst… sort of.. anxiously speaking.

I just wanted to vent on here with you guys since I have my appointment in a few hours.

So wish me luck and I’ll be back to tell you guys how it went.

RELATED: I went to the dentist and had some cavities filled – Dental Health | Adulting

Thanks for reading this “When you haven’t been to the dentist in years … I’m scared to go to the dentist” blog post.

I hope you guys enjoyed it.

Do you guys regularly go to the dentist?

If not.. are you afraid to?

Let me know by leaving a comment down below.