Dentist Phobia?

I have a tooth that is KILLING me and I know I need to go have it cut out but I have this things about Dentists. When I was about 7 or so my parents took me to the Dentist and the assistant was wanting me to bite down on a piece of cardboard (I think I can't remember exactly what it was) and when I wasn't doing it right she grabbed my jaw and shoved it in my mouth and then slammed my jaw shut. The way she did it really hurt and ever since then I've had this fear of dentist.





Is this even a phobia or am I just over reacting to one bad experience?

Dentist Phobia?
If you are routinely avoiding the dentist because of your fear, it may well be a phobia. Definitions of dental phobia abound, but it's easily identified: if you're terrified of dentists and avoid them at all costs, you can be pretty sure it's a phobia.





You didn't say whether your other experiences of dentists/assistants were positive. A lot of the time, people do "recover" from the phobia once they have found a dentist they like and trust. However, many people also report that they are still wary of "dentists in general".





A phobia can undoubtedly result from just a single bad experience, depending on how frightening you perceived the episode.





There is lots more information on dentist phobia on the website below.
Reply:both....................ask around and go to a gentle,nice,dentist,that you can trust....it's stressful for them too.....
Reply:If I had to guess, I would say at the age of 7 years the assistant was having you bite on a bitewing x-ray which has a tab right in the center of the xray and when biting down can feel like biting on cardboard. Xrays can be uncomfortable, but to stop going because of that seems a little much. There are ways to soften the corners or use a smaller pedo xray or place the xray differently.


Now that you have a toothache, the toothache won't get any better until you get into a dentist and get it taken care of and unfortunately people in your predicament usually follow the same cycle and only goes when something is hurting them. Get this one taken care of and TRY to make an appointment to get them checked and cleaned. Maybe in the near future you can start heading off these severe problems before they get out-of-hand.


Best of luck