Ask me about my sedation dentistry experience!

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Hi all
I just wanted to tell everyone about my sedation dentistry experience today, in case anyone is thinking of having it done. I had a tooth that was really bothering me - I know what a normal sensitive tooth feels like, and this one just felt wrong - I couldn’t touch it with my own finger, much less let anything hot or cold touch it. The dentists I went to previously couldn’t see anything wrong with it, but the guy I went to for sedation said it had a crack and some root exposure - well, that would explain the extreme sensitivity, I guess! He said there wasn’t much to be done for the tooth except a root canal and a crown - the crack was too deep.

After having such a painful experience with the last dentist who couldn’t get my teeth frozen just for a little filling, I really didn’t want to experience a root canal without being frozen, so we decided to go the sedation route. The dentist agreed with me - I think hard to freeze people are some of their best customers.

So, after being nervous about it for three days, we woke up (late - my stupid alarm didn’t go off! I think I accidentally turned it off while setting it last night) at 6:35 am - I was supposed to start taking the sedation medication at 6:30 and be at the dentist at 7:00 am sharp. I gulped down the pills, threw our clothes on, and raced out the door (Jim had to drive - I was fading by the time we got there). We got there just about right on time - Jim may have sped a tiny bit. They snuggled me down in a warm blanket and let me get drowsy, and then gave me another couple of sedation pills. Once I was good and dopey, they put me on nitrous oxide (laughing gas), then they started working on my teeth. This next part is all hazy, of course - I wasn’t completely under, like anesthetic, but I was more out than in - they did an impression of the teeth first, for the crown, then I think they gave me the needles to freeze my teeth. Somewhere in here I felt a sharp stabbing pain - that could have been the freezing, or just something touching that bad tooth. It was momentary and gone, though, and I don’t remember much about the rest of the work. My impression is that the work (two hours worth) took a couple of minutes.

Then we were done, and Jim was helping me out to the car, where I puked a little, because apparently that is my reaction to any sedation (good to know for future reference), and we came home where I slept for the next seven hours. I’d say I was pretty out of it for about eight hours, and just really sleepy for the next four. I’m up and about and hungry now, about 12 hours later - I don’t feel dopey, but I’m not running out to the gym, either. No particular pain from the site that they worked on; just a little achey from having my jaw held open and having needles stuck in it - the usual.

I think this was a good choice for me. I don’t think I’ll be using sedation dentistry for a simple filling, but it’s good to know what it’s like for more intensive work.

Any questions?

2

How are you with claustrophobia? The last time I had a filling, I panicked more from the “I’m suffocating!” sensation of the nitrous mask than anything else. If that’s been a problem for you, too, did the sedation help with that?

(My sister is a HUGE proponent of sedation dentistry, BTW. It’s worked very well for her. Better that a dental-phobic get sedation than avoid the dentist altogether.)

3

I do have some claustrophobia, but it wasn’t a concern at all. The nitrous oxide was in basically a plastic rope that went over my nose - I think at one point I tried to adjust it (or take it off, I don’t know - I was too stoned :smiley: ), but they wouldn’t let me. So no, no claustrophobia.

4

::::looks carefully at thread OP name to make sure it’s not me::::

Your OP sounds very much like my first experience having it done this way, except my husband’s name is not Jim. Oh, and I didn’t oversleep beforehand, or puke afterwards.

I too have a major fear of dentists - am very hard to numb and had a bad experience at a young age as a result; later on have had many fillings done with anesthesia not working quite well enough, including one root canal that was… unpleasant. This caused me to let a tooth go far too long before seeing a new dentist. To my joy, she was very understanding and matter-of-fact about the pain situation. Halcion, I Salute Thee.

They tell me to take one tablet the night before and one in the morning an hour before the procedure. The first time I did this, I did indeed take the bedtime tablet. Had the work done starting at 9:00, I think and was in the chair for 5 hours (3 crowns and a bunch of other fillings). I remember hearing and sorta processing that they found more decay than they expected, on a couple of teeth next to the crowned teeth, and I gestured with both hands, making a “writing” gesture. They got it, and handed me pad/paper. On which I may have written “can you fix it today?” (they laughed, and seem to have gotten the message, but never showed me the message!). They phoned my husband to confirm, since I wasn’t exactly all there.

I slept for something like 5 hours afterward. Then I couldn’t sleep that night :mad: but still, it was very worth it.

My next experience was having another root canal. The endodontist sort of rolled his eyes; he’s not used to using Halcion on the patients (though he did have nitrous available) but I assured him, he did NOT want me sober. That was done in the afternoon. So I forced myself to stay awake until bedtime afterward. We had to bury a guinea pig in the backyard that evening (she’d passed away in the morning) and I distinctly remember listing to one side as we stood there having the piggie funeral.

All those anti-drug messages? They’re liars. Drugs Are Good :wink:

standard disclaimer: don’t do drugs. not the illicit kind anyway. but if a doctor gives you happy pills for a legitimate medical reason don’t be a fool. and it’s OK if you happen to enjoy them, think of it as a fringe benefit. But don’t do drugs any other time, mkay?

5

I actually slept pretty good last night. I didn’t think I would, after having basically slept all day.

I didn’t even know I was hard to freeze until I was an adult - I thought all fillings were supposed to hurt (I had all my molars filled by dental nurses as a kid on a Saskatchewan government program). I don’t think of myself as a baby for wanting serious dental work done while I’m asleep - if a trained dentist can’t find my nerves to freeze them, I deserve special treatment for my special problems.

6

I’m right there with you. I love sedation dentistry, though I don’t require anything more than the gas + Novocaine, even with the cracked tooth pain from hell, need a root canal, right now.

I learned of sedation dentistry right here on this board, what a lifesaver. I can honestly say I am no longer afraid of going to the dentist, and that’s saying something.

I also have hard to freeze teeth with extremely long roots (as many a dentist has told me, while oohing and aahing over the xrays!). Time after time I would go in and the freezing would appear to take and then in the middle of the procedure - whammo- like electroshock! This would happen every 3rd or 4th visit. I would always ask, afterward if I should look for a dentist that used gas and I was always put off. As in, it’s no big deal, it happens, don’t worry about it.

Of course this made me one nervous and jumpy patient. And, of course, it was no big deal to the dentist. It was a big deal to me though. I could kick myself to waiting until I was so old to listen to my own instinct and seek out another solution instead of being reassured that ‘it happens’.

I came onto this board and voiced my complaint and someone responded saying look up sedation dentistry in your phone book. That was some mighty good advice for me.

I haven’t looked back since. Hell, my husband doesn’t even have to wait for me anymore. I bravely go in all by my lonesome.

Yeah baby, sedation dentistry is the bomb. I only wish I’d wised up earlier!

7

I just recently learned that my roots are long, too! How exciting! Come to think of it, I’d trade long roots for strong teeth in a heartbeat. I can deal with the pain of a little filling that are half-assed frozen, but that’s about it. I think it also depends on the dentist - I’ve had dentists that froze me up, no problem, but the last guy I went to (well, second-last now), he just didn’t have a clue. It feels kind of like playing Russian Roulette now, though - is this dentist going to get it, or not? One way to find out - the hard way.