When I was 13 and getting a tooth filled, the nurse hooked me up with some nitrous and left the room waiting for it to take effect and the doctor to get prepared. The problem was she forgot to mix in oxygen with it. After a few minutes I was near unconsious. When the nurse came in she screamed “OMG are you allright?!” (I had turned cerulean blue by that point). I couldn’t speak so I just lifted my head a bit and dropped back on the seat–it was the only thing I could do. That dentist is lucky
I ain’t litigious.
I hate nitrous. When I was 10 I had two teeth removed under the gas. I had a
horrible dream where I was being attacked by Gumby. It was so vivid and evil that today, 34 years later, I still shake thinking about it. I wound up whacking the assistant as I came too; I wouldn’t let her put any gauze in my mouth.
We changed dentists right after that.
But because of that fiasco I refused ANY dental anaesthetic for years.
My brother finally convinced me to try it when I was 16 and since then I never ever feared a dentist visit- in fact I look forward to them.
OK, many of you have had Nitrous. Now a curveball. I drink. A lot. (as some of my posts will attest to). Will this require a higher dose than normal? Should I mention it to the dentist? I don’t plan on being under the influence when I go in, though a couple drinks would help get me there.
Assuming I’m stone-cold sober, is there anything that would prevent my hopefully blissful experience in the torture-chair? The reason I ask is I’ve heard that general anesthestia (sp?) can be somewhat thwarted by alcohol tolerance. Though I don’t know what drug is used in that circumstance. I assume Nitrous is non-combative. Any last minute advice? Got about 24 hours to go.
As always, thanks to all that are letting me know what’s going to happen.
There’s a dentist around here who advertises “sleep dentistry”, which is a little different than using nitrous oxide. You might check around to see if someone there does the same thing. Although I wonder how they keep your mouth open if you’re sedated.
When I was a kid, I had to have braces because of an accident. They gave me nitrous when I had them taken off.
I’m told that the procedure took 2 1/2 hours. All I remember is that they had that drop-tile on the ceiling that has the pokes in it. I spent the whole time going:
“Hey, look at the dots…”
…
“I wonder how many there are…?”
…
“one, two…”
…
“three…”
…
…
.
“Hey, look at the dots…”
Stuck in a pretty pleasant loop of thought for the whole thing. much nicer than the emergency put-on-the-braces visit.
I’m a wimp when it comes to anyone touching my teeth. The sound of the drill alone is enough to put me over the edge. That said, I have a terrific dentist who has tried very hard over the last 30 years to make sure I’m as comfortable as possible.
Gas was the only option for awhile and I had many good dental visits as a result. In time, I learned to eat a light meal before my appointment. I found that if I went on an empty stomach that the gas made me throw up. After three consecutive visits where I wore the dentists extra scrubs home, he and I had enough of that.
Now before I go I take a combo of medication which sends me into “I don’t care” land. Granted, I have to have someone drive me to the appointment and back, but “I don’t care” <g>. Ask about oral medication if you don’t have a pleasant gas experience.
Not true. There is nothing on the planet I fear doing more than going to the dentist, but nitrous does make me feel a bit panicky & paranoid, so I don’t use it.
That’s why I mentioned the Valium that got me in there last time.
It has to be done, and I just called the receptionist about half hour ago to make sure the gas would be on for even the intial check. She told me once the insurance papers were filled out, I was going to feel pretty good.
For anyone looking for a laugh, try this one out. Last summer I went to a dentist to have 2 wisdom teeth pulled. Walked in, paid cash, sat down, took the needle and listened to the teeth pop as they were pulled. Strangley I had qualms about that. In and out. It’s the scraping and polishing, even more than the drill, that keeps me away.
I’ll be sure to post tomorrow morning when it’s over. And if anyone has a few Valiums they could overnight to me, I’ll make sure you’re taken care of.
Gas is great! Unless, you wake up during the porcedure. I woke up just as the dentist was ripping the last wisdom tooth out. I couldn’t feel it, but the sound, I still remember it after 20 years.
May I suggest bringing along a Walkman or Discman? I had a dentist with a one in every room and a pretty decent musical selection to go along with it. He really encouraged gas and music, as it relaxed people, stopped them from fidgeting, and made his work much easier. Unfortunately, I don’t live there any more, and my current dentist isn’t nearly so progressive.
OMG, bughunter, your mother and I must have grown up in the same family. My parents took us to an old Army dentist too, and he was a real SOB. Like the dentist you mentioned, he would drill and pull teeth with no novacaine, even on kids. My father insisted we keep going to him because he was a good old boy. I now know that my father could not have possibly ever gone to the jerk himself… his teeth were rotting out of his skull by the time he was in his early 40s. Needless to say, I was terrified of dentists until my adult years, and I’m still not all that fond of going, although I have the best dentist in the state.
