Dental anxiety

I have pretty bad dental anxiety and I’m really struggling to make myself go through with getting my teeth fixed.

I’ve already managed to go for an exam and X-rays, and I was told I need 14 fillings. Some of the cavities are apparently pretty deep. My dentist said there are a couple where they can’t tell from the X-rays whether I’ll need a root canal, and they won’t really know until they start removing the decay. I think knowing how much work I need has actually made my anxiety worse because now I’m constantly checking my teeth and noticing every little ache or sensation and wondering if something has suddenly gotten worse or if I’ve waited too long.

I also have POTS, which adds another layer of anxiety for me. My heart rate can get pretty high when I’m anxious or stressed, so the idea of sitting through dental work while already panicking makes me nervous. I’m also worried about how my body will react to the freezing/local anesthetic and just the stress of the appointment in general. If anyone else here has POTS or dysautonomia and has gone through a bunch of dental work, I’d really appreciate hearing what your experience was like.

I do have sensitivity to hot/cold and sweets sometimes, but it generally goes away pretty quickly. I don’t have severe constant pain or anything like that. I know logically that avoiding the dentist is only going to make things worse, and I really want to get everything taken care of before it progresses. It’s actually getting myself into the chair and letting them start that I’m struggling with. I have a hard time just laying there completely flat for a long time.

For anyone who had severe dental anxiety and needed a lot of work done, how did you finally get yourself to do it? Was the actual experience less scary than you expected? If you had deep cavities where they weren’t sure whether you’d need a root canal, what ended up happening?

Also if you have POTS/dysautonomia, did you do anything differently for your appointments or tell your dentist beforehand?

I’d especially love to hear some success stories from people who put dental care off, finally went in, and made it through multiple appointments. I think hearing from people who were just as scared and got through it would really help me right now.