Hi! Ever since I had an oral surgery gone wrong close to three years ago, I have had a HUGE fear of the dentist. But, let’s be real, I’ve always been kind of afraid of it and instead of facing my fears, I just wouldn’t go. In the beginning of February 2020, I finally worked up the courage to see a periodontist and had a handful of appointments with him. Then, the worst of the pandemic hit and I hadn’t been back since.

Although I hadn’t been to see the periodontist, I worked hard to keep up my oral hygiene with an electric toothbrush and tried my best to at least keep my problems stable. However, going so long without having any type of check up brought me back to my ambivalence of ever returning. Which is why I am proud to say that I actually had my first appointment with my periodontist since the pandemic this past week! 😀

You guys have no idea how nervous I was for this appointment because of my phobia in general and I was extremely worried that my issues had worsened. Which is why I am even prouder to say that thanks to my improved oral hygiene, the problems that I went in for had remained stable!! My worst nightmare would have been hearing the professionals say “What happened?!” so to hear that I had been doing as good as I could have been was such a big relief.

While the issues with my gums are by no means great, I am so motivated to continue making it better after this appointment. I have cleanings scheduled with my regular dentist and my periodontist. I also purchased a waterpik as per their recommendation as soon as I returned home. I like to think that even if the appointment didn’t go well, I still would have done all of that but it would definitely have made it much scarier.

I was all but traumatized after my surgery gone wrong and I think anyone would have been if they couldn’t eat for a month. I still can’t look at a bottle of Ensure without having flashbacks! But I am so happy that I am on the right track to keep improving and I plan to stay on it, no matter what my fears are.

I think I will always be somewhat afraid to go to a dentist or periodontist but this is a great first step in, at least, lessening my phobia a little bit. In fact, I might even be a little excited to keep going back and I feel hopeful that I will continue to make improvements. GOOD FOR ME! 🙂

What are you afraid of? How do you face your fears? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah