Of Dentists and Vaccinations

I was 4 years old when I started school. I am a dental phobic. Needles scare the hell out of me. And all of these statements go together.

Before I began school, I had to go to the dentist to have some work done. I had been seeing the dentist for several years and never had any problem going there, but unfortunately, the town where I lived didn't have fluoride in the water, so I needed to have a cavity filled. This wouldn't have been a big problem except for the fact that the dentist decided to fill the tooth without giving a shot of Novocain. As he drilled into the tooth, he hit a nerve. My 4-year-old little body didn't like the feeling, so I began to cry. The dentist got very angry and came close to hitting me before my mother had a chance to step in. "Don't you DARE hit my child," she said. And he answered, "Don't bring a baby to the dentist!" I don't really know what happened after that, except he finished the filling and I was left with a terrible fear of the dentist.

That same day I had an appointment with the doctor to get my shots brought up to date in order to start school. I don't remember how many I was to have or which ones they were, just that I needed some shots. This, too, wasn't a problem for me--until that day. First of all, they tried to inject me with a bent needle. (This is from the days of non-disposable needles. I know, I'm old.) After they attempted to inject me several times, they realized the problem. Fine, but then they came at me again with a new needle. Well, by this time, I wasn't having any of it, so I pulled away as the needle went into my arm. You guessed it, the needle broke off in my arm. So now, the doctor had to do a minor surgery in order to remove the broken needle. AND I STILL HADN'T HAD THE INJECTION! Somehow or another, they managed to give me the shot(s) and we left the office.

Believe it or not, I managed to raise my girls without a fear of the dentist or needles. I still don't know how I did it. I am doing much better these days when it comes to needles and dentists. I have had to learn to accept having frequent blood work done because of my hypothyroidism and I have been very lucky that it is very infrequently that I need dental work done. So, I am able to do what has to be done, but I am never very happy about it.