Chris,
I hope my information helps. I too was scared to go to the dentist. I dipped for about 16 years, a can a day. I had not been to the dentist in probably 5 years. The only reason I finally went is I had a filling that came out of a tooth, and I had severe tooth pain. Actually is was the reason I quit, thought I had cancer. He wound up doing a root canal, and he said everything else looked pretty good.
It is funny, but before I quit I tried to ignore everything. Once I quit, I noticed everything. I had a little raised ridge pop up on my tongue. I wasn't white, and really did not have any symptoms of cancer. Still, I was scared and went back to the dentist and he looked at it and said it was fine. This did not satisfy me so I scheduled an appointment with an oral surgeon. He did a complete screening. He pressed, prodded, shined lights and everything. When he was done, he said you have no signs of cancer. He even told me that looking at my mouth you couldn't tell I had ever dipped.
The ridge on my tongue has gone, and I know what you mean about fear. However, once I told the dentist and the oral surgeon everything it was like a weight was lifted, and both were very supportive. They did not talk down to me or anything. Instead, they congratulated me on quitting and I told them about Kill the Can and said stick with it.
As far as the wife, my wife had seen me "quit" many times, only to go back. During one of my "quits", she even told me to get a can because I was being a major ass. This time, when she saw I was serious, she went out and bought me fake dip, candy, gum, seeds, whatever I wanted.
It has been 196 days now, and it does get easier. I will tell you there will be some tough times. I had night sweats, trouble sleeping, dip dreams, and occasionally I still have a dip dream. The worst part is I have gained weight I think because things taste so much better. However, I can lose weight, I can't afford to lose a jaw. If you ever need anything, let me know by messaging me.
