Gatlinburg TN
Today was another dentist day. I think fear of the dentist is, for me anyway, linked to trust. Since I’ve seen all the staff stop at any sign of pain and do everything they can to keep the procedures pain-free, I’ve been seeing my trust increase and my fear ebb. I still don’t like it, but it’s not sending me crawling up the wall any more.
I also found out something very interesting about the pain killers they use. The most common injected anesthetic for dental work contains epinephrine. That’s the same drug found in an EpiPen – it causes constriction of blood vessels, along with side effects of increased heart rate and a shaky feeling in the muscles. I’ve always felt very anxious after getting shot up, with the feeling of every muscle in my body trembling and my heart racing. Generally, by the time I’m finished at the office, I just want to sit in the car and cry. Now those feelings make sense – they’re part of the physiological response to the medication. The anxiety is an emotional reaction to the physiological response – if your muscles are shaking and your heart is racing, you must be scared and/or anxious. So, the feeling emerges from the physical. Learning about the medication and understanding the link between the physical and the emotional has helped me cope with it all.
Today was deep cleaning and cavity fixing on the left side of my mouth. Despite my increased understanding of what was going on, I still didn’t have much fun. But, it’s over now.
Today was another dentist day. I think fear of the dentist is, for me anyway, linked to trust. Since I’ve seen all the staff stop at any sign of pain and do everything they can to keep the procedures pain-free, I’ve been seeing my trust increase and my fear ebb. I still don’t like it, but it’s not sending me crawling up the wall any more.
I also found out something very interesting about the pain killers they use. The most common injected anesthetic for dental work contains epinephrine. That’s the same drug found in an EpiPen – it causes constriction of blood vessels, along with side effects of increased heart rate and a shaky feeling in the muscles. I’ve always felt very anxious after getting shot up, with the feeling of every muscle in my body trembling and my heart racing. Generally, by the time I’m finished at the office, I just want to sit in the car and cry. Now those feelings make sense – they’re part of the physiological response to the medication. The anxiety is an emotional reaction to the physiological response – if your muscles are shaking and your heart is racing, you must be scared and/or anxious. So, the feeling emerges from the physical. Learning about the medication and understanding the link between the physical and the emotional has helped me cope with it all.
Today was deep cleaning and cavity fixing on the left side of my mouth. Despite my increased understanding of what was going on, I still didn’t have much fun. But, it’s over now.
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