The dentist: a sensory nightmare

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A person I don't know making small talk, sitting very close to me, and putting her fingers in my mouth; the cringe-inducing squeal of the electric scaling machine; the unpredictable splashes of water on my face; the scritchy, rough sensation of metal on tooth; the bright light directly in my eyes...I think it's even worse than going to the therapist.

i don't have any sensory issues
but your time at the dentist sounds at bit like mine minus the bright light thing

I'm most happy when i leave
that place with my teeth felling horrible afterwords for 2 to 3 hours

but i guess most people feel like that at the dentist

I've not had sensory issues at the Dentist beyond the "slow-hand tool" they use to file off tartar before operating on a cavity. That thing makes my skin crawl. My biggest problem there is feigning interest when the hygienist is talking about /her/ life. I like to talk about /my/ life, and I know that I must let her talk about hers. I certainly don't want the person with sharp objects angry at me.

For me, it gets so bad that I have a strong urge to scream at them to stop; we're done. The only reason I don't is because I know I would have to go back anyway. And I'm just talking about a cleaning!

I hate the sound of the little pick they use to get tartar loose when it gets caught on my teeth and it goes "sproing--kitsch"

Oh my gosh, the dentist is the wooooorst for me! I spend the entire time on the edge of having a panic attack. I feel like I'm choking, or terrified that I'm going to inhale something and have a coughing fit while the dentist is drilling. Ugh!! Half the time I ask for a "bathroom break" in the middle of things just so I can calm down and reassure myself that I can still breathe. On the plus side, I've been able to use these terrible experiences as a motivator to take better care of my teeth lately I even managed to get into the habit of flossing every day! (something I never ever thought would happen)

I have trouble with the physical closeness, feeling like I am 'pinned', and when the chair is tilted I feel like I have been turned upside down. The freezing often doesn't take at all or doesn't take where it should because I am literally wired differently. Apparently my nerves run where they shouldn't and are absent from where they should be. I thought that was interesting.

Anyways, I have an awesome dentist who has turned around my fear of going. He tells me what he needs to do and he lets me decide when in that he has surprised his staff when he says: okay, go and come back when you are ready. He does this in a very nice day. He watches me for signs I am having a hard time and when I have clenched my fists, he gently tucks a kleenex in for me to hold. Little things. I get to wait in his private office with his books, too. If I don't freeze up very well then we have a talk because depending on what he is doing, I can take some work without freezing. Luckily I have been keeping my teeth up pretty good lately so he says I don't have to come as often. I always had the feeling he is a little like me, so maybe he understands better than I know.

Once I went to a dentist and they sat me in the seat and put ear phones on me playing soothing music, then the dentist started putting contraptions in my mouth to keep it open.
As he started drilling my tooth, his assistant began massaging my shoulders without even asking! I hated it so much but I couldn't say anything because of the drilling and the things in my mouth. I tried shrugging my shoulders to indicate for her to stop, but she just started doing it harder, all the time she was having a trivial conversation with the dentist and not even paying attention. I wanted to reach my hand back and swat her away but I was afraid to. That's what they do to help people relax??! ! When it was all over I ran out of that dentist office so fast and never went back. It was a nightmare.

The light is the worst part for me. That damn light!! I insisted on wearing my sunglasses last few times I went. They didn't have a problem with that.

Dentist is number 1 on my list of phobias. Last time I went, it was the first time in over 10 years. I only went because I was losing my mind thinking that my teeth were rotting out of my mouth and I would have to get dentures. The verdict from that visit was that my teeth were fine, no cavities, only I had a receding gum line due to overbrushing/flossing.

That was six years ago. Haven't been since. My therapist asked me if we could make it a goal for me to go to a dentist. It was all I could do to stammer out a decisive NO, that would NOT be okay. So we are working on decreasing the excess of my oral hygiene routine. I am trying, but it's so hard.

Just reading the replies in this thread is borderline triggering for me.

Awww, poor dentist.



Ackshuly, I hate it too.

Yes it is a sensory nightmare......... especially when they clean your teeth with polisher, shave or drill your teeth because those machines have a horrible sound and smell. Also I hate the feeling of my own saliva splashing on to my lips and chin and the smell of the hygienist's surgical gloved hands in your mouth....*shutter*.....disgusting!

Thankfully I seem to have become hyposensitive to the grinding-on-bone smell of teeth being drilled. When I began working with rotary tools myself I gained a newfound appreciation for a skilled dentist's precision artistry involved in reshaping a tooth. Getting a Dremel removed the 'fear of the unknown' element I suppose. What drives me bitshat crazy is the choice of piped-in music at some practices, it seems that they prefer the same 'doof doof doof' music format as '98 cent plus' stores and bargain clothing shops

I dont really think I have any sensory issues, but the op's description pretty much describes my experience to a T! I usually clench my hands togeather so tightly they give me these little foam things to hold, and I sit pretty much frozen in place until they're done. All those sounds and the feel of all that stuff they do freak me out! (I hate the scratchy feeling/sound!)

100% true story: the first time I ever had an appointment with a psychiatrist, while i was in the waiting room the intercom was playing a song with the lyrics "I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell...". Now, the PA was set to a radio station so I cannot imagine that was intentional. It was funny, but still, not funny. It wasn't funny to me at the time. I think it's hilarious in hindsight.

The sound of that metal instrument they use to scrape away plaque / tartar... absolutely makes my skin crawl!