Conscious sedation Q plus general advice needed please......

yvonneb04

Hi all,

I've just enrolled on quite a long series of dental work having neglected my teeth for some time (4 wisdom teeth to be removed, 2 root canals, 8 fillings and teeth whitening) It is possible I may also have a crown done on a front protruding tooth.

I am really nervous about the whole thing. I had my first dental treatment in about 4 years yesterday (2 fillings) and thankfully this was an ok experience. No pain during the procedure but some discomfort later that evening (prob when the local wore off) However I am really really nervous about the root canal stuff and the wisdom teeth op (they are going to take all 4 out at once i think) I started googling both procedures today and this was prob the worst thing i could have done as they started on about being on painkillers for 5 days afterwards and drilling into nerves etc. I am going for the root canal stuff next month and wisdom teeth the month after.

So am wondering if anyone can offer some honest advice/experience on what to expect and if it is going to be painful? I am planning to undergo conscious sedation for the wisdom teeth op and would really like to know a little more about what this actually does to you and whether it takes away all the discomfort etc or what (in conjunction with the local obviously.....)

Any advice or feedback would be very welcome. There are some horror stories out there about wisdom teeth and root canals etc and I'd really like to get some genuine info.

Thanks and kind regards

Supercell

yvonneb04 wrote: »

Hi all,

I've just enrolled on quite a long series of dental work having neglected my teeth for some time (4 wisdom teeth to be removed, 2 root canals, 8 fillings and teeth whitening) It is possible I may also have a crown done on a front protruding tooth.

I am really nervous about the whole thing. I had my first dental treatment in about 4 years yesterday (2 fillings) and thankfully this was an ok experience. No pain during the procedure but some discomfort later that evening (prob when the local wore off) However I am really really nervous about the root canal stuff and the wisdom teeth op (they are going to take all 4 out at once i think) I started googling both procedures today and this was prob the worst thing i could have done as they started on about being on painkillers for 5 days afterwards and drilling into nerves etc. I am going for the root canal stuff next month and wisdom teeth the month after.

So am wondering if anyone can offer some honest advice/experience on what to expect and if it is going to be painful? I am planning to undergo conscious sedation for the wisdom teeth op and would really like to know a little more about what this actually does to you and whether it takes away all the discomfort etc or what (in conjunction with the local obviously.....)

Any advice or feedback would be very welcome. There are some horror stories out there about wisdom teeth and root canals etc and I'd really like to get some genuine info.

Thanks and kind regards

Can't comment on the root canal, but I did have two implants done under injection sedation. I was scared pantless about the operation to put the implants in and asked that they juice me up to the max, it was strange - I was barely conscious in a lovely kind of foggy warm way, they brought me out of it every now and again to ask if I could move my head this way or that but all in all it was fine. I was really really scared beforehand as I HATE needles and the whole implant operation looked gruesome from what I'd seen on-line but would have no worries about undergoing the same procedure again.
FWIW I vowed that if I ever needed a root canal I'd get an implant done as its permanent and a root canal will fail 5-10 years down the road and you'll have to go through it all again getting it pulled or implanted.

yvonneb04

Many thanks, its good to hear a first hand account of sedation experience. Was that the intravenous sedation or whatever its called? Thanks for the info in implants etc also, I will talk to dentist again about this next time i go up. I've only had my first trip and as I've a lot to get done we will be taking checkpoints at each stage to see whats next she told me.

Thanks again.

Supercell

yvonneb04 wrote: »

Many thanks, its good to hear a first hand account of sedation experience. Was that the intravenous sedation or whatever its called? Thanks for the info in implants etc also, I will talk to dentist again about this next time i go up. I've only had my first trip and as I've a lot to get done we will be taking checkpoints at each stage to see whats next she told me.

Thanks again.

Yep, they gave me an injection in a private waiting room, then wheeled me into the main room and stuck an kind of drip set-up into me. To be honest i must have been a bit la la by then as it all seemed just fine by the time I was wheeled into the operating room. Believe me, I am a utter coward regarding needles so if you are about to have the same thing done - don't worry, it will be fine
Implants are expensive but given that you'll spend a fortune on the root canal which will fail in a few years time anyhow i really don't see the point in them - if you can afford the implant from the outset go for it.

Sheryl

Hi Yvonne,

I had my top two wisdom teeth removed about 4 years ago. My dentist at the time who was excellent (he has since retired, leaving me looking for a new dentist) removed these just under normal injection in to the gum it was a painless procedure and afterwards there was slight pain like a throbbing. I got no bleeding, infections or anything and id say i was back to normal in a couple of days, the worst was trying to keep food from going into the hole. I am a real baby when it comes to the dentist and I can honestlly say that it was no big deal at all. I have read some of the horror stories as well but I think they are the minority. I myself have to have a root canal and am totally nervous but a few people I know have had them and they say theres no pain but its uncomfortable keeping your mouth open for so long while they do it. I hope it all goes well for you.

yvonneb04

Thanks a lot Sheryl Good luck with it! A couple of people have said to me that they thought it would not be recommended to have all 4 wisdom teeth out at once and if they were it would be general anasthethic and you would be going to hospital........ If anyone knows of anyone who's had 4 wisdom teeth out at once and could let me know how it went would be great.

Thanks a mill.

dragona

yvonneb04 wrote: »

Hi all,


So am wondering if anyone can offer some honest advice/experience on what to expect and if it is going to be painful? I am planning to undergo conscious sedation for the wisdom teeth op and would really like to know a little more about what this actually does to you and whether it takes away all the discomfort etc or what (in conjunction with the local obviously.....)
Thanks and kind regards

I had conscious sedation on Friday to have four teeth extracted.They were not wisdom teeth, so I can't say anything about that, but the sedation.....can only be described as wonderful. As I had a complete and utter breakdown five minutes before going in, in the waiting room:eek: and to my shame in the actual dentists chair too,you can imagine how nervous I was.
All I can recall of the whole procedure is nothing. I remember the dentist asking me to make a fist for a vein, and I vaguely remember being hurled onto the sofa at home by my son NO idea how I even got home. Pulled myself together pretty quickly after that, maybe half an hour? I was fully with it, and had no discomfort a nurofen can't deal with! Cost me a fortune,€170 :eek: :eek: but worth every penny -would pay more if I had to.

gagomes

yvonneb04 wrote: »

Hi all,

I've just enrolled on quite a long series of dental work having neglected my teeth for some time (4 wisdom teeth to be removed, 2 root canals, 8 fillings and teeth whitening) It is possible I may also have a crown done on a front protruding tooth.

I am really nervous about the whole thing. I had my first dental treatment in about 4 years yesterday (2 fillings) and thankfully this was an ok experience. No pain during the procedure but some discomfort later that evening (prob when the local wore off) However I am really really nervous about the root canal stuff and the wisdom teeth op (they are going to take all 4 out at once i think) I started googling both procedures today and this was prob the worst thing i could have done as they started on about being on painkillers for 5 days afterwards and drilling into nerves etc. I am going for the root canal stuff next month and wisdom teeth the month after.

So am wondering if anyone can offer some honest advice/experience on what to expect and if it is going to be painful? I am planning to undergo conscious sedation for the wisdom teeth op and would really like to know a little more about what this actually does to you and whether it takes away all the discomfort etc or what (in conjunction with the local obviously.....)

Any advice or feedback would be very welcome. There are some horror stories out there about wisdom teeth and root canals etc and I'd really like to get some genuine info.

Thanks and kind regards

I've neglected my teeths eversince my first wisdom teeth. At the current moment, I couldn't say I have a lot of healthy teethes. I've dentistry phobia. Unfortunately, just when I found a doctor that seemed to do her work correctly in my hometown and which wasn't too expensive, I moved to Ireland. So I am also looking for dentists around here, but that's not the point of this post. I had 1 wisdom teeth plus the 7th teeth (the one just beside the wisdom teeth) taken away. The dentist was recommend by my mother but he was an "old dentist", my mother dates to the time where dentists wouldn't even give basic sedation, you would entirely feel all extractions and sometimes theyd even use some sort of "burning" directly on the flesh to stop blood floods. So when she found this doctor, that used sedation and she'd barely feel any pain during the session, she was totally in love for his work and convinced me to go. My experience was bad. I went there because I had another teeth that was aching and he decided to start with the wisdom teeths (luckily, I didn't have pains in the one I used to) and apart from the fact that he didn't get the right level of anesthesia, which took several injections before it started working with, which, were actually felt. Eventho the session went alright in the end (with a slight discomfort during the session and some pain during the pulling of the teeth) it didn't hurt that much... only after 2 hours I started having all kinds of huge pains and blood floods. However, it only took that noon. On the positive side, I spent the whole day eating ice scream.

To sum up: It depends, one doctor may work to the point where you wont feel pain during the session, another may just be as much nervous as you (because some of them are also nervous because of lack of experience) and you will feel a few pain glitches that go in and out and that may stay even after the session.

Anyway, good luck on it. Eventho my experience wasn't the best, if you already had experience with this doctor before and it didn't hurt, you should be alright. If I understand correctly, the root canal op isn't a very complicated issue.

P.S: Sorry for my sluggish english and hope I explained myself in an understandable way at least!

Lizzykins

I hadn't been to a dentist in 15 years until just before Christmas when I got the mother of all toothaches and had to go. Root canal was recommended after an infection was sorted. I am literally just back from the first root canal procedure. It's two appointments. I have to say it wasn't a bother and I'm a wuss when it comes to pain! 4 kids and 4 epidurals so you can see where I'm coming from! Not a twinge of pain or discomfort. I was well numbed up and it was a doddle.

I had a couple of wisdom teeth out in the dentist's surgery about 20 years ago. The top ones were grand in that they don't seem to be too deeply rooted. The bottom one left a big enough wound but it healed well and quickly. I was mightily sore once anaesthesia wore off but painkillers sorted it.

My advice is not to think too much about it and grin and bear it as I did!
Best of luck!

dragona

Lizzykins wrote: »

My advice is not to think too much about it and grin and bear it as I did!
Best of luck!

Can I just point out that the whole point of sedation is not just for the pain relief factor, but mainly for the *not being aware of what the hell is going on* factor. And the total amnesia afterwards.
For me, it was more the mental trauma of having teeth out than the pain that was bothering me -in actual fact, I know perfectly well that I would not have had any pain at all with the local, but having a dentist millimetres from my face for that length of time, poking about in my mouth, removing MY teeth, and me feeling the sensations, even if not the pain......Well it was worth the money I spent to be zonked.

yvonneb04

Hi all,

Thanks for all the replies and feedback. Good to get some first hand accounts anyways.

I have since had a root canal done and it was a very strightforward and pain free experience so i am feeling a lot more positive about the wisdom teeth stuff in March. Thanks again though.

For info for the user who mentioned they are looking for a dentist currently, I have put a load if info on the dentist I used and my experience on another thread, see link below.

http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=59111928#post59111928

All the best
Y