Dental fears

Well, I didn't have a root canal done yesterday. I had the equally nerve-wracking, yet less painful procedure of having an infected tooth drained. It was not pretty, but at least I'm in less pain than before. Hopefully, the procedure along with a stronger antibiotic should knock out the infection that has made me miserable with pain and fever for the last few days. Who knew a tooth infection could cause such a high fever.

Sadly, I have to go back next week once the pain and swelling have dissipated to figure out which tooth is the culprit. I saw a different doctor this time around and he seems to think that they'll have to redo the root canal I had back in September. I'm not looking forward to it, but it has to get done before our insurance changes due to Ryan's new job.

So you've probably figured out by now that dentists are not my favorite people. I feel bad for them because all of the ones I've been to have been the nicest people imaginable, but the pain they inflict on me procedure after procedure, year after year has permanently altered my opinion of them as a whole. No, it's not fair, but it is what it is.

I am scared of the pain. Frankly, who wouldn't be when they KNOW how painful something like a root canal can be? During my last one, Ryan heard me scream while he was in the waiting room. We're talking serious pain. How can you like someone who causes you pain, even when they apologize profusely for it before, during and after it?

My question is this: how do I keep my kids from sensing and adopting my fear of dentists? After all, parents model attitudes and behavior. I certainly do not want them to grow up being scared of the dentist. I try to not talk about it too much in front of them, but they (especially Sydney) see how much pain I'm in before and after seeing a dentist. I've already screwed up Sydney by making her scared of thunder (just like her coward of a mother), so I'd really like to get this whole dentist thing right.

Any ideas?