Needle phobia

[Dental<3Hopeless]

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I'm planning on applying to Dental School in 2 years because I think its the perfect field lifestyle wise. I originally wanted to become a doctor but after watching close friends go through the process I realized I enjoyed the subject but not the lifestyle associated with it. My problem is, I use to be VERY afraid of needles, to the point were I'd have syncope and pass out. But after giving birth myself and having to soothe my son through so many shots and blood draws, I've progressed very much in overcoming my fear. I dont pass out from needles anymore, except the dentists anesthesia scares the hell out of me. I've had many procedures done on my own teeth and I did not enjoy any one of them. The subject itself, the art of it, DEFINITELY interests me, but not when its being done ON ME. I've been working on getting over that fear too by watching youtube videos showing dental procedures and I'm now 70% okay with all anesthesia injections except the one of the hard palate, which I really couldnt find a youtube video on. But I just remember when my dentist injected me with anesthesia in my hard palate, he had to push so hard that his whole body was struggling and I had to work hard to keep myself from moving from the pressure. THATS what scares me and I'm afraid I wont be able to do that. One thing I also want to clarify is, was the pressure he was putting to distract my nerves from the pain or did it really take that much force to stick the needle into my hard palate? And is this a phobia that I really can get rid of so I can become a dentist or does it seem like something I shouldnt pursue if its taking so much effort to overcome the phobia?

 

[kimothy_777]

This is the perfect article for you:
http://uofa.ualberta.ca/news-and-ev...4/june/dental-grad-faces-down-fear-of-needles

 

[jeffity]

Pushing so hard his body was trembling? Was he using a straw or something? Needles sink in. Like butter. There are different flavors of palatal injections, but if you're talking hard palate, you bottom out quickly. There's no pushing. The bone is right there and you're certainly not going through it. Maybe he was using an instrument or finger to apply pressure in the neighborhood. But it shouldn't have been that hard. Or maybe the pressure you were feeling was the anesthetic itself (before it infiltrated).

Regardless. When you're in an academic setting, I think things are different. Kind of like with cadavers. Random dead body on the road, not too awesome. Possibly disturbing. In a more professional setting, you're elbows deep without thinking about it.

 

[sgv]

I think your perspective/fear will change once you learn a ton about whatever subject you're scared of. For example, trees used to look majestic and beautiful but after taking plant biology, all I can think of is xylem, phloem, CAM cycle, etc. I used to be creeped out when I first went into the cadaver lab then I just became distracted from having to keep track of each layer of muscles, origins & insertions, and I forget that the cadaver used to be a person. When you start giving injections and get used to it, it'll be more of a nuisance and a speed bump to operating on that patient. You'll be too busy thinking about anatomical landmarks to orient you to the greater palatine foramen that you'll forget about whatever you're scared of. Just do a bunch of injections and it'll become second nature. I used to be unreasonably unsettled whenever I saw someone openly carrying their pistol or a police officer wearing their sidearm. After I developed shooting as a hobby, handguns or any firearm is no big deal because I know how they work and how to handle em'. This is just my personal experience with whatever fear I may have had. I usually overcame them by learning about it and changing my perspective. Or...this could have nothing to do with changing one's perspective and everything to do with desensitization. I have no idea...

 

[Psychodent]

Phobias are cured with exposure. As you begin doing injections and learning about the process, you will eventually find yourself not scared of doing them anymore.

 

[techyguy]

I've seen a pediatric dentist wiggle a child's lips on the cheek side to overload the sensations that can be sent through the nerve, to distract them from the needle stick. There was a term for the physiological effect of this, but I don't remember it. I don't know if your dentist was trying to do this or not, perhaps because you mentioned your fear of needles.

I also saw a dentist hide a needle until the very last second, from a grown man about twice my size, because he was afraid of needles.

 

[jeffity]

It's a shared nerve bundle thing. They say motion receptors (shaking) and pressure receptors (pressure lateral to injection site e.g., on palate) take priority over pain receptors. The theory is that you jam the lines with all that shaking so less pain from the prick gets through. I don't bother for now. I do enjoy a good sneak attack, though.

 

[Dental<3Hopeless]

Thanks everyone for your comments! It definitely made me feel a lot better about it. I think it will be a combination of desensitizing and also learning more about it to take away the fear. Until dental school starts (hopefully if accepted) I will continue to observe other dentists and use youtube to try and get over my fear. Just that dreaded stab lab is still there, but hopefully I'll be over my fear by then enough to make it through the lab without passing out when I'm the patient! lolll. Thanks again 🙂

 

[dentalWorks]

palatal injections suck all together (I hate getting AND giving them).

However, there are techniques to make them more tolerable to your patients, use smaller gauge needle (30 gauge for example), apply generous topical (although, I am not a big fan of this one), and something I've been practicing recently is to inject the buccal (the face side) and let the solution diffuse slightly toward the palatal, that way it provides some anesthesia on the palatal site (you do have to wait about 5 minutes between buccal and palatal).

bottom line is, you are not the only one. I also hate it when my patients feel my injections, it makes them trust and like me less.