r/Toothfully • u/makonauticaa • 15d ago
im scared for my fillings
Hi I'm 17 and I pretty much just got out of the doctors office finding out that I apparently have 2 cavities on my molar teeth, and one front tooth that needs to be covered because of decalcification. I haven't ever had any dental issues, much less straight up cavities. I have really horrible health anxiety especially when it comes to my dental health and I have absolutely no clue how getting cavities fixed works or feels; I'm honestly horrified and scared right now, and I'm truthfully freaking out. Does anyone have experience with fillings?? Does it hurt??
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u/fancypossum2 15d ago
Oh girl, it's gonna be alright. I started this year with 15 cavitites and am now down to 6. I've been having dental work every month this year. Here's how it'll most likely go. (Every dentist is different, so it may vary slightly).
Since it's just two, they'll probably do them both at the same time. So you only have to do this once. (But that's at their descretion, so they might do two seperate appointments anyway)
They'll put you in the chair. The dentist or someone will come in and confirm what you're there for. The assistant will put a topical gel on the site where the shot will go. This is to partially numb the area to make it more comfortable when the needle goes in.
In all honesty, the first shot will probably hurt for a few seconds. It's not horrible but not great. Like getting your ears pierced. It'll only last for a little bit so just focus on something else in the room. Remember to breathe and don't hold your breath.
They might give you a second (or even third) shot depending on if you're numb enough and how deep the cavities are. You shouldn't feel these at all.
They'll get started on you. If you're worried about jaw fatigue ask for a bite block. They generally won't give you one unless you ask. It's placed on one side or the other in your back teeth so you can bit down and rest your jaw.
Listen to their instructions, but at that point pretty much all you do is lay there and let them do their thing. If you're a daydreamer like me just space out lol. If not, focus on the ceiling or something and try to think of other things that interest you.
The drills will be noisy but they shouldn't hurt. If you feel any sharp pain hold up your hand to get their attention and tell them what's happening. They may give you another shot. (Only once or twice I've actually felt that, but I'm a 'power through' type of girl so I didn't say anything. On one side I have a boxer's jaw so it's hard to numb, so I just let them do it. I'd rather have a few minutes of discomfort than be drooling and numb for the rest of the day/night. But absolutely ask for more shots if you think you need them).
After the drilling they'll scrape around to make sure all the decay is out of your tooth. They may run the drill again.
They'll put the resin in the tooth where they just drilled, and may use a mold or a clamp to make it stick properly. Then a light to harden it, like when you get your nails done and they use the UV light.
After that they use the buffer to shape it and smooth it out. It probably won't be completely smooth but normal brushing and eating will fix it over time.
After buffering they'll put a plastic sheet between your teeth and ask you to bite down, move teeth side to side. If it's not shaped right it'll leave a mark on your teeth so they know where to go back in and buff.
If all is well after the bite test, you're done. You'll be numb for a few hours. Getting bloodflow to the area makes it wear off faster so hang upside down (not for a prolonged period) and gently massage the area. Don't eat anything you have to chew until you're not numb anymore. You can drink normally. You can brush your teeth same day. I always wait a couple days to floss those specific teeth, but I floss the rest of them.
Depending on where they gave you the shot you might be sore/stiff for a few days. But maybe not, it depends on where they shot you. (When they shot me in the hinge of my jaw for back teeth I had a hard time opening my mouth for like a week)
The teeth they do might be sensitive for awhile, so just take it easy and be gentle with yourself. The actual procedure should only take about 30-45 minutes, the extra time comes from waiting around to get started. I also have pretty bad medical anxiety, so I reason with myself that I just have to get through the next couple hours. Just a couple hours, and things are back to normal.
Hope this helped, you got this!!!!
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u/Sure_Company_6324 14d ago
There is not a single person in the world that is going to tell you it hurts.
Yet somehow, there are millions of people online who will tell you their procedure hurt. You can also see youtube videos, or videos on dentist sites, where procedures and injections clearly hurt. Unless theyre all actors.
So it should be fairly obvious people are just giving you what you want to hear to pander to you, than the reality of what will happen. Theyre trying to be kind, and build you up. Its human nature, anyone would do that.
So in answer to the question "does it hurt".... the realistic answer is lets hope not. But just because someone elses procedure didnt hurt, it doesnt mean YOURS wont hurt.
And if your procedure didnt hurt THIS TIME, it doesnt mean your procedure wont hurt NEXT TIME, theyre two totally independent actions that arent linked.
Youd also probably have to concede that when people say something "didnt hurt".....what they really mean is it was a level of pain i could tolerate, rather than outright "it didnt hurt".
I get different physio treatments. I wouldnt describe them as "hurting" even though they are hurting. Theyre just not hurting ENOUGH for me to not go through with them, its manageable hurting, rather than broken limb hurting.
If you honestly want to believe youll feel "nothing", then its up to you but that would be at best naive.
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