What to do with my fear?

[vienhuynh]

I am not sure if it is fear yet, but here is my story.
Today is the first day i went to shadow a dentist. She was really nice and explain things while she working to me without asking. I saw thru the cleaning process in a relatively close distant, like 2.5 feet. There are blood, but i am aint scared.... not at all, i felt it really interesting. But then come the tooth extraction. I was watching extremely close and follow every move that she make. She pull out the teeth, and show me, I still okay, but then she keep on and digging into the gum to get the bone out... That was somehow make me feel the chill, and I felt nauseous, then i gotta get out and try get some air. My heart beats quite fast and i know something wrong. Is it hemophobia? I not sure because i fine with blood though... but still, is there anyway to get over it? Plus, i didnt eat anything for breakfast and i was standing and watching for 3 hours with a water bottle. I fine eating lunch after watching the things though....
I liked the shadowing today very much aside from the almost faint experience, everything she told me was interesting and informative, i wish i could hear more...

Thank you for u guys feed back, i expecting them

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[SeattleRDH]

You get used to it.

 

[NguyenDDS]

Yea, I heard you get used to it. If anything, you can always try watching videos on youtube or something on various dental procedures so you can get used to it

 

[vienhuynh]

So it is not hemophobic?

 

[SeattleRDH]

So it is not hemophobic?

Nah. But you should do more shadowing for sure. Try to shadow either a oral surgeon or periodontist long term. Because if you think one extraction is bad, you should see a flap, or a full mouth extraction.

 

[wired202808]

I am not sure if it is fear yet, but here is my story.
Today is the first day i went to shadow a dentist. She was really nice and explain things while she working to me without asking. I saw thru the cleaning process in a relatively close distant, like 2.5 feet. There are blood, but i am aint scared.... not at all, i felt it really interesting. But then come the tooth extraction. I was watching extremely close and follow every move that she make. She pull out the teeth, and show me, I still okay, but then she keep on and digging into the gum to get the bone out... That was somehow make me feel the chill, and I felt nauseous, then i gotta get out and try get some air. My heart beats quite fast and i know something wrong. Is it hemophobia? I not sure because i fine with blood though... but still, is there anyway to get over it? Plus, i didnt eat anything for breakfast and i was standing and watching for 3 hours with a water bottle. I fine eating lunch after watching the things though....
I liked the shadowing today very much aside from the almost faint experience, everything she told me was interesting and informative, i wish i could hear more...

Thank you for u guys feed back, i expecting them

im the same way, i had this same exact issue with my shadowing. I used hypnosis and it helped a bit, but its all about exposure. the more you see it, the less bad it will be, imagine seeing that on a daily basis.

be positive and believe in yourself!

 

[wizi]

Watch Texas Chain Saw or the whole series of SAW at 12 AM. You will be fine in no time.

 

[vienhuynh]

Thank you for the replying guys, love you all, I really appreciate your feedbacks and i will use them all.
About the watching scary movies, wizi, good idea. I play horror games most of times, though i see ghosts floating around, not the dismemberment of body, but dead space does count. Yea, I will try watching the movies u suggest.

 

[Demps]

I thought tooth extracting was the best part in shadowing in any department at dental office at my university lol! Maybe I'm a freak. Yeah you will be fine like other people said.

 

[notin]

i watched a free gingival graft today, having never seen anything similar before, my stomach tightened up a bit during it, but by the end I was cool with it. i think it is natural the first time(s) you see something to be a bit unsure about it, and that uncertainty is what leads to the problems. just get some experience and you'll be fine. also, when you're observing you're often standing up for a long time and under hot lights, etc, it can all get to you.

 

[dentalWorks]

I am not sure if it is fear yet, but here is my story.
Today is the first day i went to shadow a dentist. She was really nice and explain things while she working to me without asking. I saw thru the cleaning process in a relatively close distant, like 2.5 feet. There are blood, but i am aint scared.... not at all, i felt it really interesting. But then come the tooth extraction. I was watching extremely close and follow every move that she make. She pull out the teeth, and show me, I still okay, but then she keep on and digging into the gum to get the bone out... That was somehow make me feel the chill, and I felt nauseous, then i gotta get out and try get some air. My heart beats quite fast and i know something wrong. Is it hemophobia? I not sure because i fine with blood though... but still, is there anyway to get over it? Plus, i didnt eat anything for breakfast and i was standing and watching for 3 hours with a water bottle. I fine eating lunch after watching the things though....
I liked the shadowing today very much aside from the almost faint experience, everything she told me was interesting and informative, i wish i could hear more...

Thank you for u guys feed back, i expecting them

hemophobia or not.... you'll get over it.

What you saw today was not blood, it was your first encounter with real life tissue. You have just experienced your first case of Vasovagal Syncope.

There have been dentists / doctors / med and dental students with such minor issues. I talked to a senior dental student who said they had problems the first couple weeks in the clinic cause gorey-tissue gave them trouble.

 

[Jackson-Ave-Dental]

You should sit in on a front row seat to a 3 hour gum surgery for 2 quadrants where every single one of the teeth have an average pocket depth of 7-8mm with some even exceeding 10mm.

Blood is gushing everywhere while infected tissues get dug up and ripped out with a ronjour.



That is my primary motivation for flossing.

 

[wired202808]

You should sit in on a front row seat to a 3 hour gum surgery for 2 quadrants where every single one of the teeth have an average pocket depth of 7-8mm with some even exceeding 10mm.

Blood is gushing everywhere while infected tissues get dug up and ripped out with a ronjour.



That is my primary motivation for flossing.

lol im gonna cry now when i brush my teeth haha

 

[Jackson-Ave-Dental]

lol im gonna cry now when i brush my teeth haha

lol! I really think people who don't like to brush, should shadow in on a surgery for one day!


But yes OP! You will get use to it Fears are meant to be conquered.

Not that I had any problems with blood in the first place but handling mice use to scare me. Especially if you have to give them injections... and then my PI goes and tells me to hold them tight or they'll bite you. (WHY WOULD YOU TELL ME THAT?!)

 

[Bereno]

You should sit in on a front row seat to a 3 hour gum surgery for 2 quadrants where every single one of the teeth have an average pocket depth of 7-8mm with some even exceeding 10mm.

Blood is gushing everywhere while infected tissues get dug up and ripped out with a ronjour.



That is my primary motivation for flossing.

I shadow an oral surgeon, so I know the feeling. However, it was not the ronjour that got me. The first time I got a little queasy was when the surgeon used the 15 along the gum-line for a flap. That, and when they would use a curette to scrape the bone... (eg a bone biopsy) Those would always give me the tight stomach lol. The good news is that I was able to get over it pretty quickly and now am pretty much fine

 

[Jackson-Ave-Dental]

I shadow an oral surgeon, so I know the feeling. However, it was not the ronjour that got me. The first time I got a little queasy was when the surgeon used the 15 along the gum-line for a flap. That, and when they would use a curette to scrape the bone... (eg a bone biopsy) Those would always give me the tight stomach lol. The good news is that I was able to get over it pretty quickly and now am pretty much fine

Strangely enough, that never bothered me. lol?

Although, the smell of infection under a crown makes me want to

 

[dmdluffy]

I think you'll get used to it, just hang in there!

On a side note, you might want to ask to wear a mask if they haven't given you one... you don't wanna breath in the splatter and such!

 

[vienhuynh]

hemophobia or not.... you'll get over it.

What you saw today was not blood, it was your first encounter with real life tissue. You have just experienced your first case of Vasovagal Syncope.

There have been dentists / doctors / med and dental students with such minor issues. I talked to a senior dental student who said they had problems the first couple weeks in the clinic cause gorey-tissue gave them trouble.

YES. That what I thought too. Before when my doctor took my blood for testing purpose, i told him i dizzy if my blood is taken when i sitting. He said it is a case of vasovagal response. So I was told to lay down and it was fine and i dont feel dizzy or nauseous at all. Today i felt the same thing and I thought of it too. Some people said i was weak and chicken out infront of blood though... Now i guess it is not.

Gotta thank you all so much for such big response!!!

 

[Philippines03j]

Like everyone says you get used to it

I personally can't just stand there and watch BUT it is not a problem for me when I am assisting in such a procedure. Thats just me though