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Favorite form of sedation?

What is your favorite form of sedation?

  • no sedation, just tender loving care

    Votes: 19 14.0%
  • natural remedies (e.g. Bach Rescue Remedy)

    Votes: 2 1.5%
  • alcohol (a stiff drink beforehand)

    Votes: 3 2.2%
  • oral sedation (anti-anxiety pills)

    Votes: 16 11.8%
  • nitrous oxide (laughing gas)

    Votes: 27 19.9%
  • IV sedation

    Votes: 46 33.8%
  • general anesthesia

    Votes: 23 16.9%

  • Total voters
    136
Is nitrous the same thing you have in labour? ('Gas and Air'?) If so I wouldn't go near it as I had a bad experience with that (and just that) as 'pain relief' during one of my labours. A mate had had it when she had her baby and told me it was awful as it makes everyone in the room think you're not in pain and out of it - but you feel everything. I wondered whether to believe her. Then, having my second baby, things went too fast for any proper anaesthetic so I tried G and A.... and later swore never to have that stuff ever again - certainly for childbirth it does absolutely nothing. In the later non medicalised labours I had a much better time with no anaesthesia whatsoever. So I find it hard to believe nitrous is that stuff I had - as it clearly had no impact on pain (or memory of pain or perception of pain) whatsoever, did not make me feel happy, sleepy, drunk, or remote but did in fact supply me with an horrific hallucination. Never again!
 
Hey Tradlad! :)

You sure do talk about IV drips and gassing a lot, eh? :drool:

I have only had one scary experience with gassing - during a wisdom tooth removal in 2002. I was so "scarred" by that surgery, that I NEVER want to do anything Dentistry-related AGAIN! :hic:

:jump:Welcome from Alberta, Canada!

I hope we can chat again soon . . . I would like to know more about CONSCIOUS sedation. Have you ever had any?
 
I would like to know more about CONSCIOUS sedation. Have you ever had any?

It's just like going to sleep and waking up with it all done if they do it deep, I have heard about some people not being totaly out of it but don't give a shet about whats going on.:cheers:
 
I ahd conscious sedation in May and would say it's not always like going to sleep then waking up with it all done. I have no memory of the first hour of my procedures - but the entire second hour I remember clearly. I was in no pain and although scared at first calmed down as I realised I couldn;t feel anything and it was all OK but I was definitely awake, aware of time passing (and it was 'normal' time, not time passing quickly as some describe) so would just say conscious sedation is not always as described above. I was aware of the conversation going on, and the procedures being done but as I realised they weren;t hurting anyway I felt OK but definitely, definitely, not asleep.
 
I voted for oral sedation because this is what I will be given next week but truthfully, I dont know which is best because i have never had any kind of oral sedatives. I am praying this will work for me.
 
I would definatly go IV sedation. Had it once - fantastic. A pinch of a cannula, syringe full of juice - and suddenly everything is done. Great!

Next to IV, I would go a GA, but from my perspective, there was nothing between them.

I had oral sedation once - totally failed on me and would never do it again.
 
I voted anti anxiety pills as that is what I'll be using in future.

Had 2 crowns fitted recently that involved 2 sessions of sedation and have to say I did not feel right for days afterwards.... depressed and shattered would be the best way to describe it! I'm also getting my head around the trust thing... and I think in future I'll steer clear of the sedation.
 
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Just bring on the IV sedation ... lovely stuff!
 
Nitrous. Fortunately, I've had few problems in the past, though I do need to have a filling replaced next week. My current dentist isn't very willing to give me the gas, so I don't know what I'll do.
 
I wasn't quite sure what to pick as I not only have dental phobia, but sedation phobia to an extent as well. I definitely do not want GA unless is it absolutely 100% necessary. I have actually only had Nitrous (just sedation, not for GA) one time before and it worked pretty well actually. But here is sort of how it happened - I went in for an extraction of a tooth that was extremely painful - so much so that I actually WENT to the dentists after avoiding it for so many years.

Now, I actually have GAD (generalized anxiety disorder) so I am not too sure if THAT was where my anxiety was coming from or if it merely compounded an underlying dental phobia. That is much better than in years past though..

Anyway, I got in the room , got xrays and was a little nervous but okay, but once the procedure started my anxiety increased pretty severely. The LA injection wasn't too bad and compared to the tooth pain I was having it was actually a little welcome relief from that. See, I suffer from what I call the "further backs" (actually, just made that up, but I'll explain). The further my mouth is opened and locked open the higher the anxiety level and the further back in my mouth and the further back the chair goes, the higher the anxiety.

So, anyhow, as they started making the chair go back, my anxiety shot through the roof and I felt like I was going to pass out. I told the DA and she put a gas mask on my nose, which at first was even worse bc I felt my head getting all buzzy and started seeing "static" like I was going to pass out (another huge fear of mine cuz one day I was waiting in line at the sub shop and out of the blue, for no apparent reason just passed straight out - I refused medical treatment and it has haunted me since and I think that is the main source of my anxiety. I told her, and she did something to it and within about 5 minutes I was staring blissfully at the ceiling, anxiety pretty much gone.

I had to go back two more times to get other very painful teeth out and didn't really have too much anxiety at that time bc the pain had been so bad for so long I was ready! :)

As far as IV sedation, I used to take xanax for my anxiety but never liked when I took enough to feel sedated (I usually only took enough to take the edge off). But, I am very sensitive to medicine of any sort and hate side effects. The ironic thing about this is that I did quite a fair bit of partying in my youth and did pretty much all things imaginable. I am not proud of it, but it is a part of my history. Anyway, conscious sedation seems to me to be similar to the feeling I had when some college buddies of mine got some ketamine bottles and we took that. I remember it was SO weird and at the time I liked it, but now that I have stopped doing anything at all (including drinking) thinking back and remembering the vivid feeling that I had at that time literally makes me sick to my stomach, so I am not sure I could tolerate that feeling again. (on a funny side note, I did think it was really weird that when we did that stuff we would watch TV and no matter what we watched it looked like a dubbed movie - the voices came way after the mouth movements. - actually that is kinda scary too!)

Anyhow, the reason I am here is bc I need to get over all these fears bc the reality is that I am going to need some work done in the form of extracting 3 bottom molars that have broken off and had the gums grow mostly back over them. And 4 (I think) top molars that have suffered the same fate. Those are going to be the worst bc that includes 2 erupted wisdom teeth that are at the furthest possible position in the back of the top of my mouth.

Then if my insurance will cover it, or it I can get the money, I want to get implants to fill those teeth. Additionally, the very next thing that I am going to have to get done is something with my front tooth (just to the right of my very front right one). It had been breaking off for quite some time and last week it finally broke and is still in there but barely hanging on. It doesn't hurt, but I deal with people and have to get something done about it. Sadly, I do not have any insurance at the moment.

In a way I am terrified, but have been realistically thinking about all the positives - most notably no more ugly teeth and BEING ABLE TO ACTUALLY EAT what I want! trust me, I have very complicated ways to eat certain foods!

Strangely enough the though of getting the front tooth worked on from extraction (which will be necessary, I am sure) to implant because it is in the front of my mouth. We shall see, i am sure you will be seeing more of me in the next upcoming weeks. Hopefully I will nail this thing once and forever.

Mike
 
1. No sedation.
2. IV sedation.
 
I don't understand why the poll changed--I will take nitrous--(why don't I get to go to the dentist today:cry:!) Bring it on!!! lol
 
Propofol.



Dave.:)
 
That's a rather complex question. For me it depends entirely on the treatment.

Cleanings and Fillings = No Sedation. I like to know what's going on and maintain some sense of control.

Root Canal= Nitrous Oxide. Never had one but I feel I would need something to get through it. I can barely cope with fillings without sedation and a root canal would just be too much for me to handle (regardless of people saying how easy they are!). The thought of it just freaks me out. Furthermore, my dentist refers out for them and I would not handle switching dental care providers well since a great deal of my anxiety stems from lack of trust and the unknown.

Extractions= IV sedation! I have only had extractions once (wisdom teeth). I opted for the IV sedation and I did not regret it! I would definitely use it again if I needed another extraction.

Kitkat
 
unforunetly i havent had any sedation yet cause of money proplems but im workin hard at work to get back to where i need to be to get things done and im not playin around this time im determinded :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
GA is my preference so my weak neck is well supported. Also I have too many vivid memories of previous back teeth being removed (some to make enough room in my mouth) and the roots snapping off so the dentist having to add more lidocaine and using awls and drills to try to get the roots out. As I have less than two finger mouth opening, this would leave me with a very painful jaw for days from it being forced open. This is part of my post traumatic stress disorder which included these very distressing episodes.
 
Will be having oral sedation on Monday so can't say whether I'll like it or not. If I remember, I'll post back with my results. :hic:
 
IV sedation for me is the best by far, unfortunately where I live it is often over a year waiting list and private is just too costly :( I have just managed an extraction using Oral sedation and although I didn't feel any effect at the time , I think it actually did help me to remain calmer. But definately not the "warm and fuzzy feeling" the dentist seemed to hope I would get.
 
Oral Sedation isn't bad... I take 2 Ativans totallying 5mgs. I can't remember a thing after my appointment. :giggle:

It calms me down, then I lay in the chair, put my earbuds in and turn my music on.... the Dr puts the gas thingie over my nose... gives me just a wee bit of gas, then sits back until he thinks I'm completely relaxed. Sometimes I remember him saying to me... can I begin? And I just say.... oh yeaaahhhhh.... after that I don't remember a thing except waking up in the car on the way home or waking up in bed.

LOVE it!

IV sedation is better I think, but if they aren't equipped for it, the oral is my next choice of sedation.
 
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