Absolutely petrified

Hi all,

I have lurked here for a few weeks, only just plucked up courage to post. Reading here has helped so much. Had a very bad experience years ago, 4 teeth to come out to allow wisdom teeth to come through, was supposed to have them out 2 at time, when I woke up not only had he taken all 4 out but another 4 also!!! Anyway over the years only went if really had to shaking, tears, sick etc. The last 2 years my teeth started to break off due to medication I take, kept ignoring it, due to not being able to find a good NHS dentist,then when front top tooth went just before xmas knew the time had come, got so lucky with first dentist hubby called, he is so kind and understanding, Im in tears minute I walk through the door dont sleep etc. Anyway bottom line is all 24 teeth have to come out (gulp) with lots of tears, shaking sleeplessness have been a few times thanks to help of hubby and wednesday pick immediate dentures up and on thursday IV sedation to hopefully take all of them out in one go,was referred to another dentist who is 90% sure he can do it in one go. My problem is Im absolutely petrified sbout the IV Sedation , how much will I know? what will I feel? what will it be like after?

Sorry to have rambled on, and if you read all this, thank you

Hi Juile,,
There are many good stories on here of people who have had IV sedation. I am one of them. I have had teeth extracted with IV sedation twice. The first time was last summer, the second time was just yesterday.
I dont know if the way it is done where you live may be slightly different but I can tell you from my experience, IV sedation is wonderful!

Brieftly, this is what was done with me. Where I live, IV sedation is most often done by oral surgeons. Yesterday, I went to his office, checked in at the desk ad then waited just a few minutes for the nurse to come to the waiting room to get me. I was taken back to what looks very much like a small operating room. The nurse asked me a few questions and then took my vital signs. She then attached monitors to me that monitored my heart rate and breathing. She also put a small oxygen probe on my finger. Another assistant wrapped my hair in a towel and covered the front of my clothing with a sterile drape. The oral surgeon came and talked to me while he inserted the IV in my arm. Most IV's are placed in the hand but I have better veins farther up in my arm. The IV stick is just like a small pinch and not really painful. And then he injected the sedatives inti my IV. These act very quickly and I remember the room began to swirl and I feel asleep.
One of the most wonderful things about IV sedation is that you are completely unaware of what is being done. You feel nothing and remember nothing so there is no fear. I woke up to hearing the nurse calling my name and I was done.
I was told in adavance that when I woke up, the right side of my face would be numb and would be packed with gauze and so this did not frighten me.
I was taken to a small recovery area where I sat for a bit and then I went home with my husband.
When you are having IV sedation, it is really important to make sure you have somone to be there with you because you will be a bit dazed and disoriented for a little while. I went home and slept for a few hours and by then the novacaine wore off and so I took some pain meds.
Hope this helps

Thank you so much for your reply, I really do appreciate it and it has helped a lot. I know here it is a little different, an anaesthetist will do the sedation. When I went for consultation (was referred) the dentist said my hubby will stay with me till I am sedated then leave the room, afterwards I will be in recovery for at least half hour, during this time hubby is not allowed to leave the premises!!. I mustn't even use the kettle for 24 hours ( knew something good had to come from it lol)
I feel so lucky to have found a great dentist (did i really just say that) and the dentist he referred me to is also nice, but I am so scared by all this, even typing this Im in tears! Feel like Im being stupid, even the thought of going tomorrow and picking up my dentures is freaking me out

Thank again

I've never had any teeth taken out (yet!!) but i had oral surgery 2 weeks ago and i know exactly how you feel! although mine was only under local..
I know its the hardest thing in the world to do, but the best thing to do is to try and not even think about it! as you only ever imagine it to be worse than it really is! good luck i'm sure you'll be absolutely fine!

Hi Julie,
You are not stupid at all. The first time I had oral surgery last summer, I had 3 teeth extracted and it was my first time having oral surgery and I was totally petrified! When the nurse came to get me in the waiting room, I burst into tears when I had to leave my husband in the waiting room. And just like you said, he was not allowed to leave the office while I was in surgery.
I'm so happy you have found a good dentist that you are comfortable with. I truly believe this makes all the difference. Like you, I have blessed to find a wonderful dentist and the oral surgeon I had was really nice too.
I have written extensively about my dental journey here as have many others. Believe me when I tell you that putting the words "wonderful" and "dentist" together is something I never imagined I would do!