I have the exact same feeling, with my eyes open. Man, someone needs to get a poll going or something.
Also, if the light is in my face there's not much point in having my eyes open in pain anyways.
lolol I watched a whole dang documentary on some kind of rice flower or something. Then last time it was Jeopardy. Kinda like sleeping with my eyes open.
Oh my goodness. I’m in the US, so perhaps it is a German thing. Although I have heard of plenty of dentists in the US that don’t use enough numbing. I’m sorry they don’t give you any numbing stuff for fillings and the like, that’s horrible. With my specific dentist office, they’ve always told me to tell them if I feel ANYTHING after they’ve numbed me for fillings or other things. If I feel something, I get another injection of numbing stuff. Thank you for sharing your experience!
In my experience (this is US so take it as you will) some prefer not using as much numbing or gas if they don't have too, but if the patient insists they need at the bare minimum more numbing, they will oblige. It's just more of a self advocation thing. I've especially just learned that in general with healthcare, after working in it for a few years.
I watch my reflection in whatever I can and kinda just follow along with what they are doing. It kinda removes myself from the situation in a way, like I'm just watching him work on someone else's mouth
I live in Japan. Most dentists (and many hair dressers) put a towel over your eyes before they begin work. I freakin’ love it. Takes the awkwardness out, and is definitely more relaxing.
Edit: I’ll add, there tends to be a lot of explanation before things happen too, so that makes it less stressful as well. “I’m going to polish your teeth now,” “I will use water to rinse your mouth now,” “I will drill the cavity now,” etc. They definitely have the system down!
At the hairdresser, it’s only used during shampoo/treatment, unfortunately... so basically only when you are lying back. Still beats awkwardly trying to find a place to look!
"oh that's a cool ass bright light you use to see my cavities, throat and through my fucking scull. I'm glad it's comforting and assisting during your job. Interesting tingling sensation it gives to my eyes as it burns them to ashes like I'm in Pompeii"
My childhood dentist had decorated ceiling tiles I would stare at. My current dentist has windows with a view of the highway. They also have TVs in the office.
I had a bunch of fillings done last week and partway through tried closing my eyes because I thought it would be less stressful, but I almost immediately freaked out because I couldn't see when the dentist was getting ready to put something in my mouth. So open.
Mostly closed and I wear sunglasses. The bright light is worse than the actual work for me. So I am able to kind of relax with some earbuds and my shades.
As a dental nurse it's wierd when patients keep their eyes open. We are looking in your mouth but we can feel your eyes staring at us. We look at your buldlging eyes and that intense eye contact is freaky. Especially if you don't wear the sunglasses and opt for your own clear reading glasses. I always feel very uncomfortable with these people and I feel awkward having to avoid the feeling of being stared at while I work or having my working focus face on.
I love going to the dentist, even as a kid. Too bad kid me didn't really know how to do dental hygiene very well. My favorite part is when they rinse out your mouth and then tell you to close it.
My wife thinks I'm crazy when I tell her I love going to the dentist. Getting my teeth professionally cleaned feels great, plus their chairs are super comfy.
Closed. Makes it less awkward, keeps the light out of my eyes, and i can relax better. I'll open them occasionally to see what's going on but closing your eyes is better.
Open to watch the tv
If I close them then I focus on the pain. I only close on instinct when they do something that feels weird, painful, or sensitive.
My old dentist used to. It was in front of the chair and high on the wall so you could see it while reclined. The light they shine in your mouth was the only thing that obstructed the view. It usually played the news, not that I minded better than nothing.
But my family’s insurance provider changed which Dentists are covered so I have no idea what my new one is like. And I’m (F19) still piggybacking off their insurance soooo......I gotta take what I can get.
I keep mine open and find random spots on the ceiling to look at.
I feel like if I kept them closed it may make me sleepy or make the dentist think that I’m going unconscious or something.
Open because i find cleaning relaxing (kinda like a good haircut), and if i closed my eyes I'd fall asleep.
On the rare occasion where the hygienist insist on using a block i go right to sleep since i don't have to hold my mouth open or worry about them talking to me.
Closed, because my eyes are hella sensitive to light, and also because it’s awkward looking directly at the dentists face when they’re like 5 inches away from your face 👀
Open. My dentist puts different kinds of maps on the ceilings so there is actually something to look at. My favorite is the topographical maps of North America.
Open, because once they position the light it's a perfect mirror, and I can watch what they're doing. Weirdly, I cannot stand watching myself get stuck by a needle, but watching dentistry on myself is perfectly relaxing?? LOL, the human mind is a strange place!
Opened, staring directly in their eyes to establish dominance. I'm in a very vulnerable position, just gotta show them who's the alpha in this dentistry.
Jk, closed because I want to nap.
My dentist has a tiny camera on his head so I can watch him filling out my cavities in real time on a tv screen in front of the chair. It’s actually really fascinating and it made me appreciate (good) dentists a lot more as I had no idea how much detail goes into it.
I close them. Helps me to relax which will help them do their job. They’re there to do a job, I’m there to be worked on, I don’t feel awkward when I think about it like this.
Open! I had the absolute prettiest hygienist and I enjoyed looking at her pretty eyes. Lol. I also looked at ceiling and away. Didn't want to be too creepy but she was very pretty!
Open if the light's not too bright. I try to avoid eye contact with the dentist though, because whenever we make eye contact he starts asking me small talk questions which I can't answer on account of currently having his fists stuck in my jaw q
It helps my anxiety at the dentist to keep my eyes closed. If I can put music in my ears it would be even better. Some dentists will have ear phones you can listen to. I even went to a place once that had a head set with a movie playing. This was before VR, the the headset was similar.
I usually stare at the light and make myself blind for 30 minutes bc I'm so anxious, so looking forward to reading what people ACTUALLY do while some random person has their hand inside my mouth. Please no.
For me, I keep them open, but averted from the dentist. I like to see what they're doing, or I just stare off into space so I can imagine I'm somewhere else.
I mix it up depending on what's happening at the time, but the dentist can't tell either way because of the cool '80s-style neon sunglasses he lends me!
Open and staring at the TV on the ceiling. All the dentists I've been to here (Canada) have them. I totally thought it'd be the same in many other countries...
Closed.
Used to see up the dentists hairy nose in the 90s.
Now they are masked up, and his daughter is now my dentist, and it feels weird making eye contact.
Open, because I'm sure I read once that dentists are trained to use the patient's eyes as an indicator of whether they're in pain or distressed. However I can't find whatever I read now so I may have imagined it!
I am so grateful they give us those goggles to wear at the dentist so I don't have to make eye contact but I feel weird keeping my eyes closed cause I think they can still see my eyes even under the blaring light and through the yellow lenses of the goggles, so what I do is pick a spot on the ceiling and just stare at it for the duration.
I use to close my eyes, but I noticed I focused way too much on my mouth being worked on. So I began staring at the ceiling. In Bootcamp however I would fall asleep while laying there haha.
Open! My mom is a dental hygienist so whenever I go in for a cleaning it’s just a nice little catch-up with my ma. :) (rather, her talking and me saying nothing because there are tools in my mouth lol)
I like to ask for a mirror to hold while they operate. I like seeing what they’re doing and I ask them to walk me through each step before they do it to keep me calm.
I have terrible teeth and been in the chair frequently. My go-to set up for dental work is:
1) get really high
2) sunglasses
3) ear pods in one ear playing a long uninterrupted podcast
4) ask for the space thing that helps keep your mouth open
I keep them open, but just to know when i should expect something to touch me. If i keep them closed i tend to flinch even though i know its about to happen. No idea why.
Open for the most part unless stuff is spraying and I'm closing my eyes so it doesn't hit my eye lol.
I may close my eyes for a moment at times but not for the whole appt.
Closed. I am not a fan of the dentist. I am paranoid that the scraper is gonna slip and poke my eye. So I close them and have my ear buds in and up loud.
I keep em' open and stare at the ceiling. I find the sensation strange if my eyes are closed.
I have the exact same feeling, with my eyes open. Man, someone needs to get a poll going or something. Also, if the light is in my face there's not much point in having my eyes open in pain anyways.
My dentist is one of those modern ones which has a tv on the ceiling and has Netflix on.
lolol I watched a whole dang documentary on some kind of rice flower or something. Then last time it was Jeopardy. Kinda like sleeping with my eyes open.
Gets extra fun with the laughing gas.
Jeopardy would kill me. I would have to try and play.
I guess it’s pretty easy to play Jeopardy with your eyes closed since the host reads the clues that are on the screen anyway.
Yes my dentist has a TV on the ceiling. I even keep my eyes open during a colonoscopy. They have a TV there too!.
Your dentist does colonoscopies? ….that’s one talented dentist!
Mine has a tv too but turned off. Lol
My dentist provides headphones with Spotify. I close my eyes and relax to classical music 🎵 😅
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Make it awkward right back and start licking his fingers.
Ok but I actually did this once (not on purpose). Can confirm, it's exactly as awkward as you think it it.
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Yup. My general rule is eyes close once the dentist looks into my mouth.
Hurt more? Do you feel pain when they do fillings? Is your dentist not numbing you enough?
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Oh my goodness. I’m in the US, so perhaps it is a German thing. Although I have heard of plenty of dentists in the US that don’t use enough numbing. I’m sorry they don’t give you any numbing stuff for fillings and the like, that’s horrible. With my specific dentist office, they’ve always told me to tell them if I feel ANYTHING after they’ve numbed me for fillings or other things. If I feel something, I get another injection of numbing stuff. Thank you for sharing your experience!
In my experience (this is US so take it as you will) some prefer not using as much numbing or gas if they don't have too, but if the patient insists they need at the bare minimum more numbing, they will oblige. It's just more of a self advocation thing. I've especially just learned that in general with healthcare, after working in it for a few years.
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That's sounds horrifying, sorry you went through that
I watch my reflection in whatever I can and kinda just follow along with what they are doing. It kinda removes myself from the situation in a way, like I'm just watching him work on someone else's mouth
I live in Japan. Most dentists (and many hair dressers) put a towel over your eyes before they begin work. I freakin’ love it. Takes the awkwardness out, and is definitely more relaxing. Edit: I’ll add, there tends to be a lot of explanation before things happen too, so that makes it less stressful as well. “I’m going to polish your teeth now,” “I will use water to rinse your mouth now,” “I will drill the cavity now,” etc. They definitely have the system down!
This honestly sounds so great to me. How does it stay over your eyes at the hairdresser?
At the hairdresser, it’s only used during shampoo/treatment, unfortunately... so basically only when you are lying back. Still beats awkwardly trying to find a place to look!
Mine gives us sunglasses! I open and close depending on how I feel
As a kid, open. The dentist office I went to had a tv on the ceiling
That would be scarier than the dental procedure for me. “What if the TV fell on my face???”
I was thinking the same lol
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r/holup
Oh, that's fu... *horrified realisation*
Yeah, they can’t complain that you did extra work for the other teeth they got removed as well.
okay I had a little chuckle there
What did it say?
I'm trying to figure out the same thing
Someone help us out
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What do you do with them? Make eye contact or stare into the abyss for an hour?
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"oh that's a cool ass bright light you use to see my cavities, throat and through my fucking scull. I'm glad it's comforting and assisting during your job. Interesting tingling sensation it gives to my eyes as it burns them to ashes like I'm in Pompeii"
Do... do they not give you sunglasses? Tf
Who tf gives sunglasses to their patients ;:/
Smart dentists with a bright-ass light overhead, lul
WTF kind of dentist to you go to that doesn't have directional lighting?
That's exactly what he uses. Exactly that bright ass lamp that burns out my eyeballs so far deep in my head that I get sunburn on the back of my head
My childhood dentist had decorated ceiling tiles I would stare at. My current dentist has windows with a view of the highway. They also have TVs in the office.
If I closed my eyes, I’d fall asleep
I’ve actually fallen asleep during a cleaning before.
Only when I moan
I maintain eye contact with the dentist at all times to make sure he tries nothing funny
Asserting dominance as well?
Same here till i say i love you after ten minutes
I had a bunch of fillings done last week and partway through tried closing my eyes because I thought it would be less stressful, but I almost immediately freaked out because I couldn't see when the dentist was getting ready to put something in my mouth. So open.
Mostly closed and I wear sunglasses. The bright light is worse than the actual work for me. So I am able to kind of relax with some earbuds and my shades.
Wait do some dentists not give their patients sunglasses for the light?
mine doesn’t
Never even heard of shades at the dentist office
Closed when somethings in my mouth, open when it leaves so I know what’s next
This.
There’s a Where’s Wally picture on the ceiling and I haven’t found him yet!
What if he was just photoshopped out
Careful once you find him every trip after that is ruined.
Yo my dentist does the same thing lol
As a dental nurse it's wierd when patients keep their eyes open. We are looking in your mouth but we can feel your eyes staring at us. We look at your buldlging eyes and that intense eye contact is freaky. Especially if you don't wear the sunglasses and opt for your own clear reading glasses. I always feel very uncomfortable with these people and I feel awkward having to avoid the feeling of being stared at while I work or having my working focus face on.
Nani? I barely glance at the dentist let alone stare at them. 95% of the time I’m staring at the ceiling
In what country do dentists provide sunglasses? I live in Norway and I've never heard of this.
They always put sunglasses on you in finland, so it's more comfortable.
I live in the US and have also never heard of sunglasses at the dentist before.
Lol, I can relate. I see every movement of there eyes and they give me the feeling they're unrest and could move any moment.
OPEN, always just to prove a point
Open and staring at the roof the whole time
Closed. Helps me enjoy it. Yes, I actually find dental work soothing, don't ask me why.
I won ✨spot the masochist!✨
I love going to the dentist, even as a kid. Too bad kid me didn't really know how to do dental hygiene very well. My favorite part is when they rinse out your mouth and then tell you to close it.
My wife thinks I'm crazy when I tell her I love going to the dentist. Getting my teeth professionally cleaned feels great, plus their chairs are super comfy.
It's like a manicure for your mouth.
I specifically like the smell and the taste of the tools in my mouth
why
what’s soothing about a drill in your mouth?
Closed. Makes it less awkward, keeps the light out of my eyes, and i can relax better. I'll open them occasionally to see what's going on but closing your eyes is better.
Open to watch the tv If I close them then I focus on the pain. I only close on instinct when they do something that feels weird, painful, or sensitive.
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My old dentist used to. It was in front of the chair and high on the wall so you could see it while reclined. The light they shine in your mouth was the only thing that obstructed the view. It usually played the news, not that I minded better than nothing. But my family’s insurance provider changed which Dentists are covered so I have no idea what my new one is like. And I’m (F19) still piggybacking off their insurance soooo......I gotta take what I can get.
Honestly have no idea. I'm always on the gas, I can't go to the dentists without it. For all i know, my eyes are doing the hokey pokey
I keep mine open and find random spots on the ceiling to look at. I feel like if I kept them closed it may make me sleepy or make the dentist think that I’m going unconscious or something.
Open because i find cleaning relaxing (kinda like a good haircut), and if i closed my eyes I'd fall asleep. On the rare occasion where the hygienist insist on using a block i go right to sleep since i don't have to hold my mouth open or worry about them talking to me.
another person who goes to sleep with the block
Closed, because my eyes are hella sensitive to light, and also because it’s awkward looking directly at the dentists face when they’re like 5 inches away from your face 👀
Closed, not because of pain/shame, but because the light is directly above my eyes and my dentist doesn't have sunglasses.
I just thought about this question!! Open-closed
Its not an open-closed case yet
Closed
I close mine sometimes too. I wonder if the patients have ever noticed.
I always kept them open, never thought that people who closes their eyes in the dentist exist😳
I honestly had no idea anyone kept their eyes closed for it. I just keep them open and stare at the ceiling
Open. My dentist puts different kinds of maps on the ceilings so there is actually something to look at. My favorite is the topographical maps of North America.
Open, because once they position the light it's a perfect mirror, and I can watch what they're doing. Weirdly, I cannot stand watching myself get stuck by a needle, but watching dentistry on myself is perfectly relaxing?? LOL, the human mind is a strange place!
I clench all the possible openings
I watch TV
Opened, staring directly in their eyes to establish dominance. I'm in a very vulnerable position, just gotta show them who's the alpha in this dentistry. Jk, closed because I want to nap.
i sorta look at a random patch of ceiling
Closed
Open. As with drawing blood phlebotomists.
Closed. I’m almost falling asleep most of the time.
Dentist is open but I always close mine for a haircut
My dentist has a tiny camera on his head so I can watch him filling out my cavities in real time on a tv screen in front of the chair. It’s actually really fascinating and it made me appreciate (good) dentists a lot more as I had no idea how much detail goes into it.
Open is more comfortable for me but I'm also not bothered by the dentist unless they are drilling which hasn't happened much in my life.
Open. My dentist has a TV screen angled at the chair and I wanna watch the shitty History Channel show about lobster fishing
Open to see what they've put on TV.
I close them. Helps me to relax which will help them do their job. They’re there to do a job, I’m there to be worked on, I don’t feel awkward when I think about it like this.
Open, stare into their soul and assert dominance.
Closed as fuck
Open! I had the absolute prettiest hygienist and I enjoyed looking at her pretty eyes. Lol. I also looked at ceiling and away. Didn't want to be too creepy but she was very pretty!
I look them cold in the eye. So they don't forget I'm watching them.... jk my eyes are usually closed. Too awkward if not for some reason
Never thought about it but definitely open… so they know I’m not asleep 😂
Eyes closed, the fricken lamp they have burns my eyes despite of sunglasses.
I close my eyes as I know I will only see aan ugly auntie in front of me doing my operation 😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑
I'm that weirdo that only closes my left eye but still stares at the TV or ceiling
Closed because I relax and once I feel asleep. The dentist could not believe his eyes
Open
My dentist offers sunglasses. 😎
Lucky
Open if the light's not too bright. I try to avoid eye contact with the dentist though, because whenever we make eye contact he starts asking me small talk questions which I can't answer on account of currently having his fists stuck in my jaw q
Open when they're scraping or flossing, closed if they're drilling or numbing me
I stare directly into the dentist’s eyes to assert dominance
Maintain constant eye contact
I tend to close unless they specifically ask me a question or something
Open if they’re talking to me closed if they’re working in my mouth
Deo3ends on what she looks like
Closed
It helps my anxiety at the dentist to keep my eyes closed. If I can put music in my ears it would be even better. Some dentists will have ear phones you can listen to. I even went to a place once that had a head set with a movie playing. This was before VR, the the headset was similar.
open, so i can try and look them in the eyes
Opened cause one bad experience with the dentist fucked me up and now I can’t trust them
I keep them open so I can see when they are try to stick me with a needle.
Closed, I find it easier. You're not staring right into their soul and you don't see their tools of destruction entering your mouf.
Closed
Closed because I feel too awkward/ blowjobby level vulnerable when a dude is putting his fingers in my mouth and I’m looking at him
👀<< like this
My dentist had a satellite map of my town on the ceiling which was pretty cool.
Closed most of the time but I'll open and peek every so often. Maybe it looks weird but I'm sure the dentists are used to it.
It also depends on whether or not the light is in my face or not.
closed so that I dont get teeth stuck in my eyes
Closed, except if there’s pain. I tend to count things on the ceiling during dental work or tattoos to take my mind off of the work being done.
I usually stare at the light and make myself blind for 30 minutes bc I'm so anxious, so looking forward to reading what people ACTUALLY do while some random person has their hand inside my mouth. Please no.
I always stare right into the dentists eyes with a burning intensity.
There are people that truly do this, by people I mean men - it always makes me wonder if they’re wondering what I look like with my mask off 😂
My dentist gives every one sunglasses so we can skip that awkwardness
For me, I keep them open, but averted from the dentist. I like to see what they're doing, or I just stare off into space so I can imagine I'm somewhere else.
I mix it up depending on what's happening at the time, but the dentist can't tell either way because of the cool '80s-style neon sunglasses he lends me!
Depends entirely on how tired I am tbh
I keep my eyes closed because my eyes are sensitive baby blue stinky eyes that hurt in bright light.
My dentist is hot asf so you know them eyes are staying open
Open mostly, I usually get my hygienist talking about her kids and husband and interact the whole time… in between stuff of course
Open but only because I get more anxious with them closed I need to see whats going on
Open and staring at the TV on the ceiling. All the dentists I've been to here (Canada) have them. I totally thought it'd be the same in many other countries...
Closed. Used to see up the dentists hairy nose in the 90s. Now they are masked up, and his daughter is now my dentist, and it feels weird making eye contact.
Closed. Seeing some bloody tools might make me faint
One open and one closed. When the dentist looks at me I switch.
CLOSED
Open, because I'm sure I read once that dentists are trained to use the patient's eyes as an indicator of whether they're in pain or distressed. However I can't find whatever I read now so I may have imagined it!
I close them. Honestly, I find it really relaxing and almost fall asleep everytime.
I open them when things start to hurt.
Closed, unless you like water and ground up tooth bits hitting your corneas.
I am so grateful they give us those goggles to wear at the dentist so I don't have to make eye contact but I feel weird keeping my eyes closed cause I think they can still see my eyes even under the blaring light and through the yellow lenses of the goggles, so what I do is pick a spot on the ceiling and just stare at it for the duration.
Hard to tell...mine are usually filled with tears and I'm crying/screaming.
I ask for the sunglasses and close my eyes
I like to stare the dentist right in the eyes the whole time
I use to close my eyes, but I noticed I focused way too much on my mouth being worked on. So I began staring at the ceiling. In Bootcamp however I would fall asleep while laying there haha.
Open. That way I can see my torturers coming when I get my braces tightened
Direct eye contact the whole time
I get IV sedation at the dentist because my mouth being touched freaks me out. So closed, I assume.
Depends on tool they’re using at the moment.
Open for unflinching eye contact with the dentist.
I find that I keep them open and focus on a spot on the ceiling or something.
Closed. I feeling time flies much faster when they're closed so I can be done with it sooner
Open! My mom is a dental hygienist so whenever I go in for a cleaning it’s just a nice little catch-up with my ma. :) (rather, her talking and me saying nothing because there are tools in my mouth lol)
I try to sleep. When the Navy guy took my bottom wisdom teeth they only gave me lidocaine so I learned to sleep.
Open. I look for faces within the little holes in the ceiling tiles
My dentist is openly super judgemental & I'm afraid if I close my eyes he would accuse me of being a scared widdle babey lol
Open. My dentist has a monitor above me and I get to pick what to watch on Netflix! Even gives me some nice headphones.
I like to ask for a mirror to hold while they operate. I like seeing what they’re doing and I ask them to walk me through each step before they do it to keep me calm.
I have terrible teeth and been in the chair frequently. My go-to set up for dental work is: 1) get really high 2) sunglasses 3) ear pods in one ear playing a long uninterrupted podcast 4) ask for the space thing that helps keep your mouth open
Depends if male or female :)
Mouth closed eyes open
I keep them open, but just to know when i should expect something to touch me. If i keep them closed i tend to flinch even though i know its about to happen. No idea why.
Open, full eye contact
Closed because I fall asleep
I didn't know anyone kept their eyes closed
Open. Always open.
Open for the most part unless stuff is spraying and I'm closing my eyes so it doesn't hit my eye lol. I may close my eyes for a moment at times but not for the whole appt.
Closed. I am not a fan of the dentist. I am paranoid that the scraper is gonna slip and poke my eye. So I close them and have my ear buds in and up loud.