I am exactly the same way! I hate when I am getting a cavity filled or something similar and I am unable to swallow properly because of all the tools in my mouth. It especially makes me super panicky when I have a buildup of mucus near the back of my mouth that I can't swallow properly because if I open my throat passageway, I'm afraid I will swallow all the little tooth bits that are being drilled out!
With IV sedation, I have had IV sedation for a root canal. I'm not sure if there are multiple kinds, but the kind I had was called twilight I think. I'm not exactly sure. Basically, he stuck the IV into my arm and slowly inject the sedative. I felt very, very out of it at first, but not like a weakness. It was more of just relaxed and then before I knew it, the procedure was over. I'm serious. You don't remember ANYTHING. You don't feel anything during the procedure, you don't even need to worry about swallowing because you're basically knocked out. If you want, you could call the dentist and ask what kind of IV sedation it will be. For mine, it basically felt like I was under anesthesia, it didn't even feel like I was awake. Think about when you sleep, you don't think about swallowing because we don't really swallow when we're sleeping! I just wish the IV sedation wasn't so expensive. Can't really afford it anymore for future procedures unless it's absolutely necessary and insurance will cover it.
