Fear of going to your dentist

My mother worried that we weren't taking care of our teeth and thought that we obviously needed the fillings. Why else would be given unnecessary dental work?

It took a few years, and several fillings later before it was realised by my mother that the school dentist would say that we had no problems, and upon visiting our local dentist shortly after we would be required to have more dental work.

In those days the government would give x amount to dentists, so I am told for every filling they had to do. The National Health Service meant that our mother did not need to pay for dental treatment before the age of leaving school. This was a good thing, but not when dentists in Britain were paid by the amount of work done. This being said, I am quite sure that not all dentists were out to fill every child's head with fillings, but it was certainly open to abuse to the few bad dentists out there.

The sad thing is that it made me paranoid to go to the dentist in later life, but over the years I have overcome this fear and now gladly visit my local dentist for a dental exam now.

I now floss daily, get regular check ups and was recently had to see my local orthodontist to be fitted with a bite plate due to grinding my teeth at night. Bite plates are not easy to get used to, but I'd much prefer not to wear my teeth away with all the grinding I do at night. My teeth are in great shape for my age, despite the amount of fillings I had as a kid. If you're frightened of going to a dentist, think again! Without their help you could loose your teeth!