I'm 37, and just got mine out this past Christmas. I have a total phobia of the dentist (I had smashed my two front teeth when I was 14, and they drilled into them w/out any novacaine or anything... I've never had cavities, so this was a shock! ).

I've avoided the dentist for the past 7 years. Horrible, I know. But in that time, I only ended up with 4 tiny cavities total, 1 in each molar. I did however had a bad case of gingivitis or whatever the gum infection is called, and for some reason my body builds up the tartar in my mouth really bad in my mouth, so it took a few sessions to get my mouth cleaned up. I had to have antibiotic packets inserted in my gums (which was not covered by my dental insurance, darn!!), and any novacaine and the gas they give you wasn't either). I did get a great prescription rinse that I can get at the pharmacy and it works really well, and I still use it daily.

Getting my wisdom teeth out... I did this over Christmas vacation so I wouldn't lose any sick days at work. What a Christmas that was. First, because I went to the dentist, not an oral surgeon, to have it done, I could only have local anesthesia and was given Valium to take before I went. He kept telling me that I wouldn't remember anything, and I shouldn't feel anything.... well... it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but I did HEAR what they were doing. I wish I would have gone to an oral surgeon and been knocked out. My wisdom teeth weren't totally impacted, so I guess I was even luckier in that respect.

What made me laugh was when the dentist was showing me the tools they use. He's all "This is the extractor" or whatever the technical term was for it. I looked at him and said "No, that's a pliers." "Now, now, Jennie... that's not what we call it. And this is the elevator that we lift the tooth out with." I'm looking at him, and looking at the instrument and said "That is a chisel." You don't need to use fancy words with me, I shop at Home Depot and Lowes, I know what these suckers look like, lol!

So, it's almost a year later, and my mouth feels much better. It feels weird having my wisdom teeth gone. My teeth haven't shifted much since then. I do have a small mouth (contrary to popular belief), so the dentist said it should help with spacing.

What I can say is that I haven't gone back for my checkup for the yearly cleaning yet... . I'm still kinda rattled from the whole entire ordeal, and I get panic attacks and throw up when I'm there (the smell gets me). They were a really nice place, and even burned candles for me when I was first there so it wouldn't smell like a dentist's office. You know that smell??? I get sick to my stomach from it.

Oh, I know that I have gotten flouride treatments ever since I was about 3 yrs old because I was given tetracycline when I was 2yrs old and really sick, and it damaged the enamel on my teeth, and so I had to deal with discoloration from that. I still am careful about the toothpastes I use, and I can't use whiteners since they are so abrasive on the tooth enamel.

Hope you have good luck at your dental appt. I'll keep you in my thoughts as I definitely know your pain in this one!