A
female
age
30-35,
anonymous
writes:This may be odd but I get really embarrassed gagging at the dentist, especially as he's quite young and nice looking. I'm assuming dentists are used to people gagging throughout their treatment or do I look like an idiot?Before anyone misinterprets I don't fancy him or want a relationship with him! Also I used to gag withy previous dentist, a female and used to leave freeing embarrassed. Reply to this Question
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Fancy yourself as an agony aunt? Add your answer to this question! A
male
reader, anonymous, writes (23 March 2014): Compared to the other things that we have to put up with, gaging isn't a big deal! It's usually fairly easy to work around or realise which parts of the mouth to avoid. Having said that there are some patients who are just untreatable. My most severe gagger, even gagged when she ate!
One thing that I've found that works really well to prevent gagging is to spray some topical anaesthetic spray into the mouth. You can do a similar thing with anaesthetic throat lozenges or spray. Other wise it's just being as calm and reassuring as I can be. At the end of the day, my main concern is my patient, not how whatever affects me.
A
female
reader, anonymous, writes (23 March 2014): Yes gagging is embarrassing but dentists are fully used to it. I gag a lot at the dentists and my dentist was actually very helpful in giving me tips to help with it. He told me that he too often gags during dental treatment.
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A
female
reader, Honeypie  +, writes (23 March 2014):
 Yep. My old dentist had a Cocker Spaniel that came to work with her (she also used the dog as a service dog for the Children's Ward every Sunday) and my Mom who was really scared of dentist visits loved going the if dog was there, she would have no need for Nitrous oxide.
Dentists don't care. He won't go around later on telling people how this young girl gagged her way through the examination.
I have a pretty strong gag reflex and I always remind my dentist about it. She used to say if it felt too cramped in the mouth to snap my fingers (since you can't really converse lol)and she would try a different approach.
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A
female
reader, like I see it +, writes (23 March 2014):
 He's almost certainly used to that sort of thing. Dentists see all kinds of stuff, including panicked kids and people with bad breath or really awful oral hygiene, and they are trained to be professional and take these things in stride.
You have to remember that MANY people find going to the dentist an unpleasant or even terrifying experience. You sometimes hear sedation dentistry advertised for that very reason (at least here in the US). Some people are literally so freaked out by the prospect of going to a dentist that they can only tolerate the procedures with calming medication(s) on board, so just imagine what *they're * doing when they're in a dentist's chair!
So I'd say that in the great scheme of reactions he's encountered while practicing, yours is likely a very mild one. Certainly nothing to feel embarrassed about. It's not like you can control it or are doing it on purpose.
Hope this helps. Best wishes!
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