Is there anyone else out there petrified of the dentist??

i have to admit, i never used to look after my teeth and always refused to go to the dentist! i regret it now coz my teeth are now ******! i am in a waitin list now for a hospital to have my bad teeth removed and replaced with dentures, dont laugh! i have to go to the hospital to have it done so i can be put asleep through it coz i cant sit in a chair at the dentist and go through all that pain! but before i got on the waitin list, i got rushed into hospital because an absis grew in my face caused by a toothache, my face blew up like a balloon! i couldn't eat properly for weeks! im scared its gonna happen again before i go back to the hospital! is tere anyone with a similar problem? who else is scared to see the dentist??