Dental work: drug myself out or no?

In My Humble Opinion
1

So I have to get some dental work done next week - a gum graft. Lucky me. I haven’t had any serious dental stuff done in about 15 years, so I guess I can’t complain too much. But I’m not looking forward to it.

I mentioned to the dentist that I’m a bit queasy about the whole thing - I hate the needles they use to deaden your mouth, and in general the whole idea of anything involving cutting and stitches and all that makes me nervous. He offered to call in a prescription for valium if I want it. I’d take one the night before, and one about an hour before the appointment.

I talked to the receptionist this morning, and she cautioned me that I’d have to have someone drive me to/from the appointment, that I’d likely not remember having it done, and that I’d probably go home afterwards and sleep it off. Yikes! That almost sounds worse than just being aware through the whole thing.

So what’s it gonna be? I’ve never done anything like valium before, is it really as debilitating as she says? I’d be happy with nitrous oxide, which seems much milder, but that wasn’t offered as an option (does anyone even use it anymore?). Should I just have a shot of vodka before I go, crank up the tunes on my iPhone, and call it a day?

Disclaimer: I was only joking about the vodka!

2

Valium is pretty mild, but since you never used it before, it will effect you.

I have Meniere’s Disease (balance disorder) so I have a prescription for it, but I don’t use it much. Maybe 5 times a year, if that, unless I get a major attack.

The thing I found about Valium is it (at least for me) works in proportion to anxiety. If I’m nervous and take it, I get really tired from even a 2.5mg dose. But if I took at 5mg dose right now, I wouldn’t feel a thing.

I have notice a cup or two of coffee will counter the valium for me.

But I’d say since you’ve never taken it before, it’ll make you tired. You don’t get all spaced out or drugged out on it. You just feel like you want to take a nap. It’s like you stayed up too late the night before. You’ll say, “Man could I use a nap.”

I would have no trouble driving with valium, but everyone’s different. Especially since you’ll be stressed and he’ll use other drugs, I’d recommend having someone driving you. I don’t think you’ll need it, but you never know.

For instance, I had an eye test, I asked if I would have my eyes dialated. The doctor said “yes.” So I asked if I should have someone drive me. He said “it’s up to you the effect wears off after an hour or two.” So I figured, OK I’ll just listen to my walkman for an hour or two and sit in the hospital. (His office was in the hospital).

I had this done at noon and it wasn’t till 10:30pm when my eyes finally cleared up enough to drive. I am, for some reason, sensative to that. The next time I had my eyes dialate, it wsn’t that bad, but it still takes about 6 hours to get them back.

3

Yes. Take it.

I tried to tough-man it at the dentist until finally he just said “Would it be okay if I gassed you? I think it will be easier for both of us.”

Granted, this was nitrous and not valium, but it turned my dentist visit into a merry ol’ time watching a Simpsons DVD and smiling like an idiot instead of an hour of uncomfortableness trying to sit perfectly still and not choke on drool.

4

Yes, for a gum graft, take it. And ask about the nitrous, too. There are still some dentists using it.

I would also seek a ride. Many people are okay driving on Valium, but many aren’t, and there’s no way for you to know which you’ll be until you take it. Better safe than sorry.

Valium’s not really all that strong or scary; you won’t become dependent on it from this kind of use. It’s a tool like any other, and properly used, it’s a great medicine.

Also, be aware that the gum graft is likely to be a different color than the surrounding gum, because it comes from a different part of your mouth. It’s okay. When my friend had one done, we sorta panicked because it was very light in color, and we thought maybe it wasn’t “taking”. The dentist took a look at it and reassured her that it was fine, it was just a different color because it was from the back of her mouth, grafted onto the front. A year later, and you have to really look closely to notice anything at all.

5

Good God yes. Valium is pretty mild but you will notice it. If someone else is driving I’d take both the morning of.

6

My dentist offers a combination of Halcion (same class as Valium but stronger) + nitrous for dental work.

I had just Valium once before a crown, and didn’t find that it did much for me. I was told I shouldn’t drive to/from that appointment, and I think that’s good advice.

As long as you can find someone to do the driving, it’d be silly not to take the stuff. So you snooze some afterward, that’s not a big deal. Depending on the time of day, you might want to try to force yourself to stay awake until something like bedtime; if you nap after the work, it might make it harder to fall asleep at night.

Personally: I have SEVERE (and well-earned) anxiety about dental work, to the point where I put off having some very necessary stuff done. Meeting with the new dentist, she really put me at ease about the combination of Halcion/nitrous. It did not make me forget what was going on, nor even make time seem to pass faster… it just made it all loooooooooooooovely… I knew I was in the chair for hours (5… I had 3 crown preps and a bunch of fillings) but that was cool. Frankly, it made the dentist’s job a lot easier too.

Anyway - after that regimen for a couple of procedures, I’m now “stepped down” to just nitrous (i.e. for a simple filling, I’m ok with just nitrous; for anything more major I’m no fool, GIMME THE DRUGZ).

7

A gum graft? You’re going to need plenty of drugs afterwards. Hardly worth worrying about what you take before.

8

Thanks for all the responses - you’ve put my mind at ease. I was OK with the whole idea until the receptionist mentioned I’d sleep it off afterwards - that made me think it was going to be a lot more potent than I expected. Judging from responses here, that kinda sounds like the worst (or best, depending on your perception) case scenario.

The driver is no issue, Mr. Athena is more than willing to take me.

Maybe I should call and ask about the nitrous. I have to decide how much of a weenie I want to be about this.

According to the dentist, it’s not going to be a big deal at all. He’s pulling the gum over from the adjacent tooth, and he says I’m not going to need anything more than ibuprofen after the procedure and may not even need that. I’ve read some horror stories about grafts on the web, but hell, I can read horror stories about anything on the web. Unless I find out otherwise, I’m going to trust the dentist.

9

I’ve always wanted to try nitrous - and my doc offers it. But since I don’t really have much anxiety about having work done, I feel like it is somehow wrong to ask for it.

But on to *your *question: yeah, if you can have someone drive you, I say go for it. It may make you sleep, it may not. But if it helps get you through it, go for it.

10

You should probably go with nitrous + valium and have them put you out for the procedure. Then make sure they give you at least a couple days supply of vicodin or oxy. At the very least, get codeine (min. 15mg) with ibuprofen (200mg). Take 2 of those every 4 hours. It won’t get rid of the pain but will take the edge off.

I would go with a local anesthetic myself. I’ve had an extraction and a root canal done that way. Just make sure they use a long lasting version like the old fashioned novocaine rather than short acting carbocaine. You don’t want it wearing off half-way through.

Don’t let them tell you to just take aspirin or motrin for the pain. That is bullshit. I think most dentists keep the truckloads of narcotics samples they get for themselves and are therefore stingy about giving them to patients. Don’t take no for an answer.

edit: you can have some vivid hallucinations from nitrous - that’s where the valium helps. It makes the hallucinations much, much, less likely so the only thing that happens is you fall asleep.

11

Wow. I guess I’m really tough and didn’t realize it. I had a gum graft a couple years ago. Across about 1/2 a dozen of my front teeth. So much to be covered, I actually had to have donor tissue.

I had about a dozen shots total all over the place (front of teeth, back of teeth, shots to numb where the other shots were going…). I was awake through the entire procedure. I’m a bleeder, and there was plenty of blood going around. Plus I watched the dentist as he pulled the needle & thread up and out of my mouth. I actually thought it was pretty cool.

It was painful the first couple days, and there were some annoyances, but don’t feel too traumatized remembering it.

12

My dentist’s office is very proud of the fact that they offer nitrous for free (I think he does a lot of oral surgery) but the two times I had it, it did diddly squat for me. They turned it up as high as they could and I got maybe slightly sleepy - but I’m always sleepy at 9 AM.

I’d take the valium - there’s no guarantee the nitrous will work for you!

13

Nitrous doesn’t put me to sleep but it relaxes me. For me it’s the difference between fingernail shaped holes in the chair arms and a headache from locking my jaw open and a foggy kind of 'eh whatever as they poke sharp things into my mouth.

I am a strong proponent of nitrous for dental visits.

14

Agreed with all the people who tout the goodness of nitrous. I have dental anxiety issues and when I needed a tooth defect filled they gassed good and proper. I had an MP3 player in my ear and I remember listening to two full CDs of songs (I even remember skipping a few songs I didn’t want to listen to), but the whole thing felt like it only lasted a few minutes. I knew people were doing things with my mouth, but I couldn’t feel a thing and didn’t care anyway.

15

Ugh, about 2 weeks ago I had my wisdom teeth out and they were planning to knock me out for it. I was anxious about the IV, not the surgery, so I asked for nitrous prior to them giving the IV. I was expecting a rollercoaster of pleasurable apathy prior to everything going down.

Apparently I sat there sucking on oxygen for 20 minutes and then nitrous for over 20 minutes on top of that and felt 100% completely no different than when I walked in the office an hour prior. She started giving me the IV and I flipped out, saying “you told me I’d get nitrous, I feel the same!!” Apparently they cranked it up after that, the IV wasn’t that bad, they gave me some versed and fentanyl, and I don’t remember much after that. :smiley:

16

I was given Valium for my second round of cortisone shots in my back because the first was so painful. The Valium didn’t do a damn thing for me. I felt every nanosecond of those shots (I had 2 for the second round). I will never again take Valium before any medical procedure unless there’s a backup plan.

After an attempted root canal and then an attempted extraction of the same tooth, both with large amounts of Novocaine, I have determined that any dentist coming within a foot of my mouth better knock me out completely first. When I went back for the second extraction attempt of the same tooth, they knocked me out and I woke up with no tooth. I don’t even remember what they used to knock me out but I think I remember seeing a mask before all went black. Either I am immune to Novocaine or the last 5 dentists I have had are completely incapable of administering it properly. I went from having no issue with dental work to being terrified of anything more than x-rays and cleanings.

I like nitrous but I haven’t had a dentist who uses it in over 15 years.

17

I’ve had three different oral surgeries for *different things. Each time I had a general. No regrets on my part.

*1) four wisdom teeth, including one that had to be broken, 2) biopsy of pea-sized growth on my tongue, 3) anterior mandible biopsy of unknown shadow on x-ray.

And just in case anyone is interested, the pea-sized growth turned out to an irritation fibroma, and the jawbone shadow turned out to be (a nothing serious) periapical cemental dysplasia.

18

I do sedation dentistry now, and it is the total cat’s ass. I’ve been hard to freeze all my life, and had filling after filling done with not being properly frozen. When it came time to have a root canal done, I finally caved and went the sedation route (my dentist gives me a sleeping pill and a Valium to take the morning of the procedure, then I get one more in his office once I get there). I’m starting to nod off by the time I get to the office; after the third pill, when they snuggle me up in a warm blanket in a dark room, the next thing I remember is getting into the car to be driven home. I go home, crawl into bed, and wake up about four hours later with a sore mouth and a hungry tummy.

I tried nitrous for my last procedure, a crown, and it was’t nearly as good as sedation. The sedation is good too because they can do everything at once - multiple fillings, crowns, etc. I was a little concerned about the not remembering the procedure and being out of control and stuff too at first, but they take very good care of you at the dentist’s office, then I have my husband to look after me afterwards. It’s fairly similar to any surgical procedure where you’re put under; I go to sleep, and when I wake up, everything’s done, except in this case I’m not actually asleep, just out of it.

19

Oh yeah, people tell you that root canals are no big deal (and gum grafts are no big deal); in my experience, they’re no big deal FOR THEM. Even with the sedation (and they still freeze your mouth when you’re sedated), I still felt sharp pain with my root canal. My frigging nerves just won’t freeze.

20

I’m for full sedation. I had it for the first time a few months ago and it was the best thing I ever did. I used to freak out when I had to go to the dentist. Like you, I was afraid of the needles. I’m also afraid of the instruments; I can’t look at them. And don’t get me started about the sounds of the instruments. Just thinking about it makes me sweat.

Anyway, I had to take one valium the night before, and one the morning of my appointment. They also gave me nitrus, and crushed up a pill (I don’t know what it was) and placed it under my tongue to dissolve. Before I knew it, they were waking me up to tell me I was done. It was great! Do it!