Bitewing X-rays

[DiamondNinja]

OK, who is the sadist that invented these damn things?
As if they weren't bad enough before, my dental office got some new "handles" for them that don't bend at all. I spend the first 5 minutes of my exam pushing the hygienist's hands out of my mouth, gagging more than I have since my pregnancies. I refused to have the x-rays done. I was not in the mood to lose my breakfast so they could see whatever the hell they needed to see.

I just had x-rays done 2 years ago, and I've never had a cavity in my life...I'm 41. For shit's sake, either get another device or just keep that "thing" out of my mouth.

End rant.

[tdn]

I have no idea what those are, but x-rays always make me gag. It is the most unpleasant part of going to the dentist.

[gotpasswords]

The worst I ever had was a practice that had just gone fully digital - rather than the traditional bits of film wrapped in plastic about as flexible as house siding, the thing in my mouth was an electronic sensor. Not only was the sensor completely rigid and square-edged, there was a cable connecting it to whatever, so while the inside of your mouth gets dug into, you get to drool along the cable. Blech.

I was happy to see that they've since gone back to film.

[SeaDragonTattoo]

I find a 5mg vicodin really helps me relax and lessens my gag reflex. Also, the digital plates are much less troublesome than the old film that hurt my cheeks and gums. My dentist office also has it as a big red pop-up on their computers that I have a sensitive gag reflex and they're really great about talking me through it, counting down and hustling to remove the sensor asap. I used to have a much harder time before my current dentist.

[awldune]

Hate them.

I am a large man with a big head and a big mouth. So why do the X-ray "bitewings" press painfully against my hard palate? How can they even fit for a smaller person?

[Broomstick]

Mouth size and height aren't that tightly correlated, perhaps?

I'm a small person with a big mouth. Yes, I do hear you laughing in the back of the room there, ha-ha, but in this case it's not my tendency to talk but the physical dimensions involved - I've got enough room to keep all four of my wisdom teeth without crowding which by modern standards is an unusually roomy mouth. But I'm not very tall, even for a woman.

On the other hand I have a couple dental tori that can make placing bitewings a problem, and that may also be the case for other people who have issues with them.

[Rhythmdvl]

I can't open my mouth more than a few centimetres without white-knuckle agony. You can imagine the fun I have at dental visits. Maybe that's why I've gone five to ten years between? Fortunately no cavities so far, and am biting the bitewing to go more often now to put them off (I have no idea what they'd do if they actually found anything).

So, yeah. Add to the blinding pain of the process the occasional blips of sheer terror when my brain reacts to having an asphyxiation-capable slug that I can't remove.

~shudder~

[Zsofia]

Originally Posted by gotpasswords

The worst I ever had was a practice that had just gone fully digital - rather than the traditional bits of film wrapped in plastic about as flexible as house siding, the thing in my mouth was an electronic sensor. Not only was the sensor completely rigid and square-edged, there was a cable connecting it to whatever, so while the inside of your mouth gets dug into, you get to drool along the cable. Blech.

I was happy to see that they've since gone back to film.

Mine does this too now. They're HEAVY.

[Sister Vigilante]

God I hate those things.

[Kimballkid]

Originally Posted by tdn

I have no idea what those are, but x-rays always make me gag. It is the most unpleasant part of going to the dentist.

They are those stiff white things they put in your mouth when they do the x-rays. And they suck as I have a very sensitive gag reflex.

[tdn]

Originally Posted by Kimballkid

They are those stiff white things they put in your mouth when they do the x-rays. And they suck as I have a very sensitive gag reflex.

Thanks. Yes, I hate them too.

[DiamondNinja]

Glad I'm not the only one. I knew as soon as I saw that thing coming towards me it was not going to happen. She also had me lift one foot(??) It was just weird.

I also can't tolerate the suction thing they use these days instead of letting you rinse and spit into that little sink.

This has all become a problem since my pregnancies; my gag reflex is just...bad.

[LawMonkey]

Ugh. Second to last dental visit I had... it was horrible. I don't remember having such problems with them before (and I do have a very sensitive gag reflex), but this was a new dentist who was presumably using a different sort of shield. I really barely got through it, and lucky for me it was early in the morning, before I'd had breakfast.

[Zsofia]

Originally Posted by DiamondNinja

Glad I'm not the only one. I knew as soon as I saw that thing coming towards me it was not going to happen. She also had me lift one foot(??) It was just weird.

I also can't tolerate the suction thing they use these days instead of letting you rinse and spit into that little sink.

This has all become a problem since my pregnancies; my gag reflex is just...bad.

Do you have the salt sandblasting thing too? Where they put the cloth over your face? God, I feel sick just thinking about it.

[Dewey Finn]

Years ago I visited a dentist who used a dental x-ray machine that scanned my whole mouth at once. You use it standing, and rest your chin on a platform and then the machine sweeps around your mouth. I don't know what it's called, but it was much less invasive than the bitewing x-rays and the result was a single image of my whole mouth.

[DiamondNinja]

Originally Posted by Dewey Finn

Years ago I visited a dentist who used a dental x-ray machine that scanned my whole mouth at once. You use it standing, and rest your chin on a platform and then the machine sweeps around your mouth. I don't know what it's called, but it was much less invasive than the bitewing x-rays and the result was a single image of my whole mouth.

It's a panorama x-ray, and that's what we settled on for me. It's not as detailed as the bitewing variety, but given I have no history of decay, I'm good with that.

[Jeep's Phoenix]

The new digital bitewing x-ray device in use at my dentist's office makes the old film-based ones seem so pleasant. The one at his office is this huge chunk of plastic covered by a surprisingly thick piece of plastic film. This is jammed into your mouth by the hygienist with no regard for your gums or your soft palate (I still have a slightly irritated spot behind my lower front teeth). I don't care how much faster or more convenient it is...IT HURTS. I loudly voiced my opinion to both the hygienist and the dentist, and I'm considering finding out the name of the manufacturer so I can contact them too.

[gallows fodder]

God, I hate those things. They always cut into the soft tissue under my tongue and make them sore for days.

[Hockey Monkey]

My dentist told me I had the smallest adult mouth she had ever seen. I can barely get the child size bitewing thingies in my mouth, much less hold them while they get an image. I'm not looking forward to doing them again at my next visit.

[DiamondNinja]

Originally Posted by Jeep's Phoenix

The new digital bitewing x-ray device in use at my dentist's office makes the old film-based ones seem so pleasant. The one at his office is this huge chunk of plastic covered by a surprisingly thick piece of plastic film. This is jammed into your mouth by the hygienist with no regard for your gums or your soft palate (I still have a slightly irritated spot behind my lower front teeth). I don't care how much faster or more convenient it is...IT HURTS. I loudly voiced my opinion to both the hygienist and the dentist, and I'm considering finding out the name of the manufacturer so I can contact them too.

I'm pretty sure those are the ones they tried on me.

[Dancer_Flight]

Originally Posted by gotpasswords

The worst I ever had was a practice that had just gone fully digital - rather than the traditional bits of film wrapped in plastic about as flexible as house siding, the thing in my mouth was an electronic sensor. Not only was the sensor completely rigid and square-edged, there was a cable connecting it to whatever, so while the inside of your mouth gets dug into, you get to drool along the cable. Blech.

I went through a marathon of dental repairs last year starting at about this time, and I was expecting the bite on x-ray films (and was ready to request they use the smallest size -- I have a keen memory), but found out they had gone digital as above. I hadn't been to a dentist in a decade but my gag-reflex was tuned up and ready to go. We learned really quick how to deal with my issues. Generally things work much better if I place/adjust the sensor and I can remove the entire thing as soon as the shot is done. Likewise I concentrate on breathing (through my nose) as that helps hugely with not gagging (either on the equipment or the backed up saliva).

Also if you're going to use local anesthetic, use LOTS. If you going to use a topical numbing agent for the injection site, use mint flavoured please (the pina colada flavour is totally vile). And, yeah, use a bite block or 1) my jaw muscles are going to go into seizure, and B) you WILL lose fingers.

-DF

[Jeep's Phoenix]

Originally Posted by DiamondNinja

I'm pretty sure those are the ones they tried on me.

I have to go back in June for a small repair; for all the good it will do, I am going to find out the name of the manufacturer and complain to them. Jeez, I wonder what the children's version of that thing is like?

[Chicken Fingers]

I had a full set of dental xrays done this year. I don't remember having this type before, involving big blocks of razor-sharp plastic they jam halfway down your throat. They actually had to numb me to get me through this, and it took forever, as they minutely adjusted things for multiple xrays of each tooth. It doesn't help that I have a small mouth. Every dentist I've been to always has to resort to child-sized xray thingies.

[VOW]

I think they call them "bite wing" x-rays because they bite big hunks out of the inside of your mouth!

For those with an over-active gag reflex, there is a spray anesthetic the dentist can use. My mother would start retching as soon as she scheduled the appointment, and the gag reflex problem only got worse as she got older. She had a very sympathetic, gentle dentist who said, "Oh, we can take care of that!" and used the anesthetic spray. She refused to let ANYONE touch her without that spray!

If your gag reflex is completely out of control, or if you have developed an actual phobia about dental work, find a dentist who uses general anesthesia.

The last job my husband had in the Army before retiring was a facilitator at the main dental clinic at Fort Knox. There were some soldiers who were batshit terrified about dentists, and they were sent to the hospital for general anesthesia, even for exams, x-rays, or cleanings.


~VOW

[rowrrbazzle]

Just recently I went back to my dentist for a crown that had fallen out. I hadn't been there for several years and he's converted to digital in the interim (I never had problems with standard x-rays). The only problem I had was that for one image the assistant in training placed the plastic holder so that it dug into the floor of my mouth. I let them know what was happening, and the supervising assistant fixed it.

[Electric Warrior]

I didn't have the gag reflex issue, but last time I had them done they cut my gums and the inside of my cheek. Highly unpleasant.