Deep clean anaesthetic

[SallyUK]

Hello, I posted in support but think my question should be here

having periodontal treatment on interdental spaces between upper front teeth soon. Had it once before on a canine and seem to remember a lot of numbing and it lasting ages.

I have a fear of the numbing. Particularly my face and wide areas feeling numb, i once had some in throat, which made me panicky. I have non Adrenalin product and my dentist is aware of all my fears and is lovely. They just make me feel awful and I also panic there will be nerve damage and I’ll stay numb. so most of this I know is irrational.

the appointment is 30 minutes and I think he said my nose and lip would be numb. I’m getting it a right state about it when I’ve had a good run of managing my anxiety

it would help me to know what sort of level of numbing might be needed? For fillings I often go without but I know this treatment will be working in sensitive areas. I’m most,y scared of a palette injection, I’ve had one before and it felt super weird as definitely more aware of needle, not pain exactly, but also just weird being numb here. Do you know what sort of injection I will need? It’s the gaps between the two central incisors and the next teeth.

all other areas are a 1 but pockets seem to have developed quick in this area, pretty down about aesthetics of this as the black triangles will get bigger. Bone is good on xray, so all in all dentist says it’s pretty minor preventative work.

 

[Gordon]

I think your best bet here is to talk it over with the dentist before they start... ask them to minimally numb the area and see how things go, they can always add more local if needed, it works very quickly for gum surgery.
It's not likely that they'll need to put a palatal injection in place at all, but again, you should discuss this with them.

 

[SallyUK]

@Gordon thank you, I appreciate your reply. he’s a great dentist and he will run through it all if I ask and I will.

Good to hear a palate injection unlikely.

This phobia has always been more anticipatory but felt I had a handle on it for a while now, so frustrating when it returns and feels overwhelming again. Maybe as too much time has past since I had much work done not that I am wishing more.

I know I want this work done, I want to keep ahead of things. thank you for your reminder to just say what I hope for , less numbing. It’s quite easy to forget you can ask for things when anxious and not the expert.

 

[SallyUK]

Update - treatment was done a few weeks ago and I got through it. A week later there was a very sore spot and I had to visit the emergency dentist who said there was a bit of infection, she cleaned it out and it has healed. I recently stopped smoking and she did explain that gum tissue can be a bit more sensitive and that healing time is about 6 weeks but all looked good.

I had a regular hygienist appt today and did mention the above and a bit of sensitivity to cold still being there, she said she would mostly leave the top teeth and focus on the bottom. My dentist had asked me to move my hygienist appts to every 4 months instead of 6 to keep on top of things but she said it needed to be 3 months now as she will deep clean the area again and will need to do this every three months until it improves.

I have called the practice for clarity but haven't hear back yet. I left feeling very confused and a bit upset to be honest. The hygienist is fairly new and am not sure she knows I am phobic. The thought of numbing and cleaning every three months has really made me down and I feel defeated in my oral health as I really believe I am doing everything I can. My pockets numbers have been fairly stable for ages 1/2's. There is an area between two crowns that is sometimes 4 and now this area in my front teeth - I believe these are the areas she says need repeat cleaning.

I thought that the deep cleaning by my dentist would be reviewed at my check up with the hopes of reattachment and he really did suggest this gum issue was nothing to worry about. I mentioned this and she said I can't comment on the dentists comments.

I do realise that I have some gum disease in some areas, but reassured by my dentist at last check up that bone levels have not changed in 5 years, so are stable. I will do whatever treatment I need but having paid £200 for a treatment 3 weeks ago and thought it would take time to see the results I am a bit surprised to be looking at further deep cleans - she mentioned this was guidelines now.

Can a dentist explain the deep clean protocol and time it takes to evaluate the progress after one deep clean?

I may be misinterpreting but I feel very disappointed when I thought my mouth health was fairly stable

 

[Gordon]

Well done on kicking the cigarettes, that'll make a big difference to your gum health.

I'd assume the hygienist wants to concentrate on a couple of areas, a few weeks difference in the appointments is really not a big deal though, don't let it get you down.

If things continue to improve then switching to longer intervals for the maintenance is normal.

 

[SallyUK]

@Gordon thank you. I’m super happy about the cigarette progress.

I think my concern is thinking that recent deep clean has failed otherwise why is hygienist already planning another? Fear of repeat procedures and no benefit and high stress and money. Catastrophic anxiety has kicked in !!

My dentist does gum scores each check up hence the recent deep clean by him. Hygienist has never probed and dentist normally suggests the interval for a basic scale\polish

I’m confused by the role switch as hygienist somehow decided to probe after the clean and then said about numbing me next time to deep clean and repeat until cleared up, these are the areas my dentist just cleaned Thought it took a good six weeks/3 months to really tell how beneficial his work has been. I’ve had a deep clean before and it worked, no need to repeat ?

She was quite condescending too and wasn’t really listening. I will try not to let this experience get me down or my progress with managing my anxiety/shame.

 

[Gordon]

Are they both in the same practice? Sounds like their communication isn't great? I usually left my hygienists to decide on how regularly they wanted to see their maintenance patients, with an annual review on my part, I don't like to micromanage though.
Keep on working on the areas yourself and it may well be worth your while bringing your concerns to your dentist, they should be able to explain their treatment plan to you easily enough!

 

[SallyUK]

@Gordon thank you, I really appreciate your support here. Yes the same practice and the protocol you describe is generally how things have been for years.

I have decided to try and stop driving myself nuts with the worry of not really understanding where the hygenist is coming from and focus on the plan my dentist gave me. Have the deep clean which I have done, more regular scale and polish for now and back to see him for my six month check up in August to see if gum has reattached.

Like you say I will focus on cleaning in the areas I know are vulnerable and hope that no more deep cleans are necessary for now. Feels awkward to have a negative reaction to the new hygenist but probably best to speak to my dentist first, the appt with him is before the one she asked me to schedule with her, so that should work out. Now just got to work on the gums and managing unnecessary worry! Thanks again

 

[Gordon]

That does sound like a sensible plan, keep on top of the cleaning yourself and do the hygienist out of a job!