Open Question: What will the dentist do for me?

My teeth are really bad. I let them go bad for a long time. They are all starting to rot away and I am in such pain. I am going to the dentist tomorrow to see what he can do for me. I know I'm probably going to need false teeth. How do they do that? I have never had any kind of surgery before and I'm afraid about being put to sleep because I know what they are going to be doing. Will the dentist allow payments on the bill? I really don't know anything about this, so any info will help out a lot.