So I thought I was going to the endo today for a consult. He had reviewed all my x-rays and records from my dentist, did one of his own x-rays and was ready to move forward. I was shocked. He gave me the option of waiting a week, but I decided I’d just probably stew and stress about it and gave the okay to proceed.
I have to say it was the most unpleasant dental procedure I’ve ever had. He had to give me more novocaine than normal, but that’s fine. I didn’t experience pain per se, but I kept having this feeling that I was so numb that I might lose my airway. Later we talked about that and he said that he could see how the sensation might cause those thoughts, especially since I am a nurse and know just enough to be dangerous but not enough to reassure myself that it was extremely remote. They did use a pulse ox, so that’s good. I have TMJ from a car accident during which my face smashed into the steering wheel (can’t believe I didn’t knock my teeth out in that accident), so I was feeling spasms in my jaw by the end of it from the thing that keeps your mouth open wide. The pressure, pulling, sounds of drilling, etc. made this really difficult for me.
All that said, I’m not implying that the endo did anything wrong-simply that my anxiety and hatred for dental procedures just made this a difficult morning. I CANNOT IMAGINE doing this procedure without the gas.
Good news was that an adjacent tooth my dentist was worried about was perfectly fine and had no need for intervention.
Glad it’s over-well, I feel like I have half a face still, but the worst is over.
I still have more work ahead of me (crowns), but I guess I can check this tooth off the list.
I feel for all the dentists and associated specialists who are all about helping people, many of whom are terrified of them. It must feel like a thankless job sometimes.
For any one going through a long procedure or really any dental procedure you’d prefer to have avoided, I use audiobooks with headphones. If it’s something happening for which I really don’t want to be there (and really, isn’t that most dental work for many! Sorry @dentmom4 ) then I use legit escapism. You’ve got to know your listening habits, I have particular authors that work better than others for escaping, no fluffy beach reads.
It works great, you just have to explain to them that you will be pretending to be elsewhere so if they need you to do something, to touch your shoulder. I often use my old school headphones with the control on the cord so I can easily turn off the sound without reaching up by my face. I assume it might be a bit annoying to the dental people, but I wonder if having a more fully relaxed patient helps them get the work done?
I do that too depending on how long a dental procedure is. “Okay doc, I’m going to try to ZONE OUT here and I’m doing my best to pretend I’m not here at all. Call me if you have to.” Literally.
I think they appreciate it. They already know I’m a wimp. A calm wimp is better.
We offer headphones to every patient. Many bring their own and plug in to their phone. We have a wide variety of music available.
My staff and I are so used to working with nitrous masks and headphones that we really don’t notice them while working. If it works for the patient, it works for us. Years ago, one of my patient’s overheard a specialist say to his assistant “it’s another one of Dr. Dentmom4’s pampered patients.” She looked at him and said you bet I am and you don’t want to work on me without gas and music.
Relaxed patients are much easier to work on than those who are anxious and tense. The procedure will also be finished more quickly.
I’m glad you are done. Better to just face the music than stress for a week. I’m sorry you still felt pain. 18 years ago, my first root canal was long and the metal keeping my jaw open was tough. My last root canal, 2 years ago, was 20 minutes. A rubber thing kept my jaw open. Seriously, no pain other than the shots.
I take lots of vitamin c prior to any surgery, and some times antibiotics. Ask the Endodontist if you can take a Xanax or something to relax your muscles.
I am prone to allergies, and I find short dental procedures (like checkups) and long (like crown work) are MUCH easier if I take Claritin first … even if I don’t feel stuffed up before I leave. If I don’t it can be hard to breath because the open mouth seems to give an easy path for the air. And that make me tend to choke/cough.
root canals: i’ve had several; first one in college
my hints are to wear comfy clothes, &
bring nice noise cancelling headphones and some funny podcasts or uplifting music to listen to. the drilling noise -while not painful - is noisy and the sound is harsh.
The last crown procedure I had - this last month with allergies acting up, was pretty stressful because of the breathing aspect. I think my dentist does a great job, and I took my allergy medicine. I’d forgotten about that til you mentioned it.
In my case, a Sudafed before any dental work is vital. I mentioned it to H before his last crown and he had a much easier time breathing. I’ll look at Claritin for him and see if it might be a better option given his high BP. Thanks for the idea.
I only use Claritin (actually Claritin D) because it is my go-to for allergy symptoms. I have very low BP myself (at risk of passing out if I stand too long), so am not sure about its side effects. Of course at the dentist office I bet my BP is closer to normal
I bought one of the Revlon hair dryer brushes to try since I will be going back to the office 2-3 days a week starting next week. I tried it this morning and it wasn’t too hard for me, but I need to know what to put on my wet hair before using it. Can anyone recommend what kind of smoothing/heat protective product you use and like?
Late to this thread, but I see you have more procedures coming up. Sympathies, as I have been subjected to many procedures over the decades stemming from poor care in childhood. The gas does help a great deal.
A future recommendation for cleanings or work-take ibuprofen or tylenol prior to the procedure. Tylenol has some ability to help make one more accepting of hard situations, but I find the ibuprofen works better. Cleanings were hard for me previously due to sensitive teeth, but I am fine with ibuprofen and it makes the injections sting a bit less.
We all need to appreciate our dental health providers. My much loved dentist is trying to retire as is my hygienist. The practice is unable to find anyone to replace either of them. So the dentist is sticking around for another 6 months.
In the shower, I wash my hair and rinse, then use a conditioner and rinse out. Then towel dry and use the Revlon hair dryer brush. On low or high. I read the instructions it came with for use.
I usually put a leave in conditioner on my wet hair and then use my dry bar brush or blow it dry. I use a heat protectant spray only when I flat iron which isn’t often. I’m not really loyal to any brand. If you have a brand of shampoo/conditioner you like it would see what they make. My hair is very thick and curly.
I usually use “It’s a 10” with or without keratin (sort of depending on humidity) or Living Proof (It might be called Perfect Hair day?)
That’s after I shampoo/condition in the shower.
New question… I returned to CC today due to the heat wave, being alone, and wondering if it ever got mentioned on here that PA has a new signed law stopping state colleges from using “scholarship displacement,” meaning they can’t deduct aid they were going to give due to private scholarships. It’s big news for those who head to our state schools.
I’ve tried looking and I can’t tell if it was mentioned somewhere or not. Often when I try looking it slows my computer to a slow motion and I have to end up restarting Chrome. I’m giving up unless I get an answer causing me to post it new. It happened July 8th, so any posting would be then or more recent.
Does anyone know how to get the search feature to work - or know if it was posted?
I have no problems using the search function on my computer and found nothing about “Scholarship displacement” in recent posts (since earlier in 2021 for sure, and mostly earlier) in Parents Café or the Financial Aid/Scholarship forums. Certainly nothing about Pennsylvania.
