I felt the exact same way about going to the dentist as the OP; also the point about hating to be lectured. Somehow, all dentists I had gone to before had been of the lecturing type, and that plus some pretty bad anxiety of the whole dentistry thing, made me put off going to the dentist for 10 years or so.
However, I had a while ago bitten off part of a tooth, and a few months ago it got really REALLY painful, so I just had to bite the bullet and go to the dentist. Searched the yellow pages etc. and found a dentist close to my house offering “painfree” treatment and whatnot. Well, I don’t know if my telling about the first visit will be counter-productive or not, but the dentist was very nice and all and tried to minimize the pain by using nitrous oxide in addition to xylocaine. However, that was a BAD idea - I had never experienced that before and it made me queasy and I actually passed out!!!
Anyway, after that the trick was simply apply the xylocaine very very slowly; then you didn’t feel much at all. Further, since I had gone with the broken tooth for a little bit too long, so I had to have a root canal as well as a new crown. That was a bit painful - but by spreading out the procedure on a number of visits, applying something anti-bacterial in between, really really lessened the pain to virtually nothing.
I can’t say I’m 100% cured of my dentist anxiety, but at least I have been given hope that not all dentists are sadists!!
Well, I know it’s weird that I remember; but I’ve been doing some research on sedation dentistry (google is my friend), and one of the things in favor of IV meds instead of oral is that more can be administered if need be, and the additional drugs will take effect very quickly. I’m thinking that maybe I didn’t have enough drugs with that procedure, and I need to talk to the prospective anasthesiologist ahead of time, to make sure he’s willing to up the dosage if I’m not sedated enough.
As for the IV, last time I needed surgery, it took two anasthesiologists over an hour (and more than a dozen tries) to get an IV into me. I have every reason to believe that I’ll be needing more surgery in the next six to twelve months, hence my intended insistence to get an IV port (it’s been suggested to me by three anasthesiologists and one IV nurse).
RealTronic, I’ve had nitrous oxide before with no apparent ill effects. Also, my problems are bad enough now that not seeing a dentist is just not an option. I’m thinking, though, that our insurance is going to be good enough for me to really shop around and find one who is very accommodating.
I don’t know if I can be any help here, so I’m just kind of chiming in. We’ve stayed with a dentist who isn’t on our PPO list because he’s so good with a needle. He’s given me Novocaine shots that I really didn’t feel. And he’s very good about making sure things are comfortable before he starts and while he’s working. The last time I was in, I barely winced while he was working and he stopped what he was doing to make sure I was numbed up enough. So, maybe if you can do the sedation thing the first few times, that will ease your anxiety enough to do it the regular way from there, with a dentist who understands these things.
The other thing is, I’ve had two test procedures done lately with conscious sedation and for the first one I could have driven myself home afterward. It seemed to have no effect at all. Fortunately, the procedure wasn’t too unpleasant. The second time I told everybody I had to deal with that the sedation hadn’t really worked the previous time. I don’t know if they gave me more or something different, or if they just made sure the IV was running properly, but I remember the prep and getting situated in the OR, but that’s all. The next thing I can dredge up is after they were done. So maybe you just need to make sure they know what was done and how it worked, or didn’t, for you. They should be able to adjust so you can be comfortable.
This fuels my suspicion that maybe when I had conscious sedation before it wasn’t done properly. I’m a large person, maybe they didn’t use enough drugs. Also, because of many, many previous medical procedures, I think I may have developed something of a tolerance to some of these drugs. But I do think that communication is essential. I also think that once I get all the old stuff done under sedation, I may be able to return to a regular dentist, if it’s the right dentist.
I lucked out and have a dentist who I adore. He’s got excellent needle technique, and he knows that the part that really scares me is the local. So he gets that part over with quickly, instead of leaving me sitting there in the chair getting more and more nervous; his office seems to be really well-coordinated
I got a crown from him – my first, and I was PETRIFIED – and virtually all the actual work, aside from the final fitting, was totally non-traumatizing. The fitting wasn’t really bad, but it wasn’t fun either; the tooth was reallllly mad about all the work that had been done. It’s fine now. Somehow he keeps me almost happy while he’s working, and I even walk out in a good mood. Amazing, really; I wouldn’t call myself a full-blown dental phobe but for a few years there I was close. I think that with this dentist I’ll get down to quite-nervous-but-okay, which is pretty much normal, from what I’m told.
The scariest thing about this whole thing is the ongoing bill, but as long as I pay regularly they’re happy.
If I had a ton of work I’d want the good drugs as well, but for routine stuff, I’m suddenly okay without even nitrous. Once the needle part is over. shudder
Glad you brought this up norinew. I have stayed away from the dentist for, oh god, like 4 years now due to some bad experiences. I know from experience that it takes 2 to 3 novocaine shots to get me numb enough. So I tell the dentist this, and he just starts with one shot and says, “if you feel anything, we’ll give you another.” :eek: The point is idiot, I don’t want to feel anything!!! This happened several times when I had cavities drilled. Then came the crown. When they glued the permanent crown on, my raw nerve was hanging out and the pressed down really hard and it was THE WORST PAIN I have ever felt. And they couldn’t stop because the cemet dries withing second. I screamed then I cried. I haven’t been to the dentist since.
Oh I forgot to mention the panic attacks. Last couple of times I went, before the dentist even came in the room, my whole body stated shaking and shiverng… I had never experienced anything like it before. I couldn’t control it. It was like spasms. I freaked out.
Anyway, I know I need to go to the dentist. But I am scared shitless. I have been hearing/seeing ads for sedation dentistry and this is what I need to do. However, insurance doesn’t cover a lot of this, so it’s more expensive… but I am sure it’s well worth it!
I had to have a lot of dental work, and I was so afraid of dentists that I once burst in to tears just having scheduling an appointment.
I looked in to sedation dentistry, but the $200 extra dollars wasn’t a possibility for me. The dentist offered me a prescription for Xanax instead.
Nothing has ever been easier. I just took the pills, got a ride (they won’t let you drive or walk home afterwards) and listened to my headphones the whole time. I was aware that they were doing work on my teeth, but I didn’t care in the least. I actually kind of liked the drill because it was all vibratey. I was literally as happy as a clam and even slept quite a bit during the course of my many root canals and crowns (including one nasty tooth that broke off under the gum.) I wasn’t able to get everything done in a couple visits (I think it took seven or eight alltogether) but there wasn’t a single unpleasent thing about it.
even sven, thanks for the input! If it turns out that sedation dentistry isn’t an option after all, I’ll look into the Xanax thing. How much did you take? I have 5 mg. Xanax, and one of them chills me out just a tiny bit.
