Shar, sorry for your bad experiences, looks like you've had more than your fair share of them. Do you think that everybody with this phobia has had previous bad experiences with a dentist? I also load up on benzos beforehand. It's the only way I can get there and even with that I have extreme anxiety. I also avoid going to the dentist due to my phobia. I've also gone to the dentist with what I thought was a tooth problem and turned out I had sinusitis and later required surgery. ugh! Thanks for sharing your experiences. My tooth feels a little 'strange' but no pain, well, at least not yet today. I'm holding out still. It's been 3 yrs since I've been to the dentist and in the last 6 yrs, I've had 2 root canals, neither of them crowned, no money. I also didn't really experience pain with either of my root canals. Biggest problem was having to stay at the dentist for such a long period of time (couldn't wait to escape) and having to keep my mouth open for so long. I'm still in denial about my tooth.