If you had asked me a decade ago whether sitting in the dentist’s chair filled me with dread or made me break out in a cold sweat, I would have laughed and said no – what is there to be afraid of? It was only in 2021, after I had a filling without being properly numbed, that I understood why people are afraid of dental work. Despite telling him I was in excruciating pain, the dentist carried on with the procedure anyway, and I was left with a newfound and deep-seated fear.
At first, this was easily managed. I simply binned the reminders to book checkups, avoided their calls and carried on with my life. After a year, I told myself I’d see the dentist soon – just not yet.
I firmly shoved the problem to the back of my mind. However, as time passed, I began to feel a creeping sense of shame. I bristled each time a friend talked about a dentist visit, convinced that they could sense I had not been in several years.
I kept my dentist-dodging a secret and became increasingly ashamed of myself – I felt weak and childlike, incapable of a normal adult responsibility. But no matter how hard I tried, I could not bring myself to go. My avoidance came to a head one day in 2025.
I noticed that whenever I ate something sweet, I had a sudden toothache. After a few weeks of panicking, I finally admitted my fears to a friend. They recommended a private practice in Shoreditch, London, that had helped them with dental anxiety.
After reading its webpage, which assured a stress-free process for scared patients, I nervously booked an appointment. When I arrived at the clinic a few days later, my hands were clammy and my forehead was covered in a sheen of cold sweat. By the time I went into my appointment, my legs felt like jelly.
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