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About wisdom teeth and root canal

M

memento.mori

Junior member
Joined
Apr 15, 2012
Messages
2
Hello everyone, this is my first post, and let me say before that i am glad that i found this site :)

Recently, i found out that one of my wisdom teeth has erupted partially (lower left), and its impacted, since then i've started panicking and feeling anxious although recently i am starting to fight the anxiety as i found it a bit tiring, i guess i have a mild phobia after all about dentist although in the past i have done a root canal and some scaling (more on that later).

But i do have some questions regarding wisdom teeth, root canal and the extraction procedure to take the load off my mind.

1. So like i have stated before, i've done a root canal and a scaling before, and what i want to ask is, is it normal to do the procedure without anesthesia ? i've done some searching on the internet (including this forum) and i found out that some scaling and all root canal procedure are done with local anesthesia or at least a numbing gel. I found this odd because mine aren't done without any sort of anesthesia. And although i am okay with having a dentist scale my teeth without anesthetic because they are not painful at all, more like minor discomfort, but the root canal are on a whole different level because it hurts when the dentist pull my pulp tissue with a broach file:cry:.

2. Which are more painful, root canal without anesthesia or wisdom teeth extraction ?

3. The efficacy of numbing gel, is it true that with a numbing gel applied before an injection, it will be painless / less painful ? This is the only option for a painless injection, because there's no option for an iv sedation/happy gas on most dentist in my town (Jakarta) and i can't afford general anesthesia because it's very expensive and im afraid to be put under. So if i am going to have an extraction done, i would have to take a local anesthetic. To make matters worse, painless dentistry is still a rare concept in my country, and only a handful of clinic in my town promotes painless dentistry

3. Will an extraction affect my upper wisdom teeth, because they erupted normally (one of them, the left one) and from my recent visit to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned (a week ago), she told me that there seems to be no problem with the upper wisdom teeth (no cavities, etc). And i can properly clean it.

4. I won't be doing an extraction anytime soon because i don't have an insurance and are focusing my problem on finding a job, so what can i do in the meantime to keep the wisdom teeth clean ? (i brush my teeth twice a week and use a mouthwash before going to sleep, and since i found that my wisdom teeth has erupted, i always rinse my mouth after i ate and drank coffee)

5. Okay this might be an unrelated question, but what can i do to keep my mind distracted from this problem ? recently i found it hard to enjoy any sort of activities that i found to be enjoyable, and its getting more and more harder for me to sleep.

Sorry if there are some problems with my grammar and vocabulary, as i dont speak english fluently and doesn't come from an english speaking country.

Thanks again :jump:
 
Hello
I will try my best to answer your questions :):
1) There are situations when it is perfectly possible to have a root canal treatment without anesthesia. If the the nerve tissue is dead and there is enough tooth structure. However these situations are rare. Root scaling (beneath the gum level) is usually uncomfortable especially in deep pockets. However, if the dentist/oral hygienist work gently and with slow motions.
2) Every extraction has to be well anaesthetised. As said in answer 1, not every RCT has to be anaesthetised.
3) The numbing gel has a very limited and superficial effect. In order to have a painless injection the most important thing is to find a dentist who is obligated to provide you such an injection. How the dentist does it is less important (there are many useful ways, like the gel).
4) I hope you brush twice a day and not twice a week ;). Brushing is the most important thing. Rinsing has also a beneficial effect but smaller compared to brushing.
5) You can distract your mind but only in a limited way. It sounds like your main concern is the pain during the treatment and pain during the injection itself. In order to achieve that, this issue of pain has to be a top priority both for you and for your dentist. Tell your dentist about your fear of pain and see how the dentist reacts. If the reaction does not address your concerns seriously switch to another dentist. Your mind will not suffer so much from this pain issue once you experience painless treatments (painless extraction/RCT/scaling). Once the dentist earns your trust, than your fear of pain will be greatly if not entirely reduced.
 
^
thanks:jump:

oh and i brush my teeth twice a day, looks like i incorrectly typed week instead of day ;D
 
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