i'm twenty years old and have had dentures for two years. i still have my temporarys as i am afraid to go back. they only numbed my mouth. they didn't put me to sleep, so i lay there with a guy touching me, but couldn't react as nobody knew about my csa, as they hammered, chiseled, pulled, sucked blood out of my mouth, and ground my bones down. i don't see myself ever going back to the dentist. i'm traumatised for life.

when i was younger what really got me was the doctor would always like push his hands down my pants to feel the glands there i guess ,but they always did it like push in on my stomach ,here there you know? everytime it totaly freaked me out .

I'd have to be on death's door to go back to a dentist.

I haven't been for over 20 years.

As SAR said, I'd be too ashamed of the telling off if I went back now ...... not to mention I can't afford to pay for everything that needs doing.

I can so clearly remember the pain from when I was young - being told that the pain I felt wasn't actually pain, I was just imagining it.

Then as a young adult having injections to numb my mouth, still feeling the pain through the supposed numbing ...... and still being told that I was imagining it because it's not possible to feel pain through the numbing.

Like hell! I felt it alright. No imagination needed.

No, I'll never go back to a dentist.

SB

Post deleted by ttoon

Dentist ... Doctor .... ugh.
I see my dentist every 3 months for rigorous cleaning - I've let my teeth go too long, he's helping me save them. I hate it - but I finally found someone I trust (of course, he's getting ready to retire .... sigh)
Doctor? I haven't told mine about being a survivor, but I guess I should. (Thank you Dave for mentioning it)

A lot of trauma from men who were supposedly there for my "well-being". And people wonder why we find it so hard to trust???

M

I didn't see this thread until today. I never thought about why I hated going so much, this did shed some light on the underlying issues. I have to say, I avoid the dentist, too much. I just spent over $900.00 for this hatred. My first visit, in over 20 years, pointed out to me, how much I should have been going all along. Good news, only one very small cavity. The bad news, deep, painful cleaning to try to slow down a couple of pretty bad cases of bone loss from not having the regular cleanings done each year. One thing that really hit me when I read this....I'm much more comfortable with the "female" helpers working on me than I am the "male" dentist. Go figure!!
Best wishes, and warmest regards, Oh, and don't forget to floss!!
Scott

terpprm,

Going to the dentist is a big deal for many people and I think for survivors it's especially rough. But you do need to go, man. You need to get those temporary dentures replaced and get back into the habit of taking care of yourself. This is part of recovery too!

Know what I do these days? I always tell a doctor working with me that I'm a survivor, and the doctor is always relieved to know that and adjusts his treatment of me accordingly. It was difficult at first, but so are many things in life when we first set out to do them.

What I'm getting at here, bro, is that seeing the dentist is part of a larger program you need to tune in on, and that's learning to ask for help and then accepting the help when it's offered. This is so often another rough one, but hey, if we want our lives back we have to be willing to take on these challenges. Talk more about this stuff with us here, and let the guys here support you.

Much love,
Larry

hate the damn drill rattling my head around with the grinding vibration!!!!!!!

shudder, shudder, shudder!

Going to see the dentist is a very common fear in mainstream society and for goo reason. It is very invasive. In fact, I've heard people describe it up the with oral R....well I guess Larry already touched on that.

I too fear the dentist, sticking different metal tools and objects into my mouth(shudder). I have not gone in maybe 7 yrs.

One Idea, that may avoid the confession of being a survivor is just having a space on the intail paperwork asking you if you are unconfortable and having a scale of 1 through 10, 1 being a tiny bit uncomfortable and 10 being terrified and since the paperwork is confidecial you could explain that you are not a happy camper with out having to go into history too much.


logan

Logan,

For me the freak-out is being held by my head, having my head moved around, etc.; geez, I can hardly even write that! I haven't been to the dentist for ages, even though I know my fears are baseless and I realize I need to go. I've become an expert procrastinator on this one!

What I need is for someone to spike my drink at home, knock me out, and carry me to the dentist unconscious on a stretcher. That would suit me just fine.

Much love,
Larry