Are You Afraid of the Dentist?

Anyone who has had any extensive dental work done is familiar with all the hoopla that patients are subjected to.  So many precision tools and dental accessories for even the most basic restoration.

So being someone who is no stranger to dental procedures, I got over any fear I had of going to the dentist back in my late teens.  Before that, trips to the dentist were brutal with the old techniques of drilling out huge holes in teeth for even the tiniest imperfection or blemish.

Many years and countless dental procedures later, I'm lucky to be one of the few who can easily fall asleep in the dentist chair, even during root canals.  I hadn't really thought of anything to be frightened of during my semi-annual check up now that science and new technology have made dentistry practically pain free.

That is until my current dentist shared a few mishaps that she's heard of that are more common than we might want to think.

If you have a fear of going to the dentist, be warned, this post is NOT for you!

Decided to read on?  Well here are just a couple of things you might find creeping into your mind the next time you're propped up in that dental chair with your mouth hanging open.

My dentist told me of a case where the drill bur broke off during a routine filling and could NOT be located either in the patient's mouth or anywhere on the floor, on the patient, or on the chair.  That patient had a quick trip to the nearest hospital with a duplicate bur in his pocket so the radiologist would know what to look for in his lungs and abdomen during his x-ray.

My own dentist had just hired a new assistant who was a little too aggressive with the suction and accidentally pushed a patient's tongue right into the spinning drill.  That patient ended up with a stitch in her tongue to control the bleeding so my dentist could finish the filling.

Luckily she hasn't heard of anyone swallowing a wad of cotton or any other dental accessory that gets shoved into our mouths but I bet it's happened!

So next time you're at the dentist, take it from me and just close your eyes, relax and don't chat with your dentist!!  No telling what other mishaps you might hear about!!

Any of you have any dental horror stories to share?