Info about oral sedatives??

[katyrae83]

This is my first post on this site.  I am extremely phobic about the dentists.  I had a VERY bad experience about 10 years ago where a dental assistant held me down while a dentist drilled after I told him it hurt.  I haven't been back to the dentist since, except to have my wisdom teeth out a few months ago...which wasn't bad because there was no drill and I had IV sedation.  I went to the dentist yesterday to have a tooth looked at that has really been bothering me.  I am probably going to need a root canal.  My blood pressure was up really high, and it was just an exam.  He doesn't offer sedation for his work so I went home and made an appointment with a sedation dentist for next Wednesday.  (My heart is pounding just writing that  , and it's only an exam!!)  I spoke to his assistant on the phone, and she seemed VERY nice.  She told me that they could do anything I wanted them to under sedation.  I was just wondering what oral sedation is like.  Is it like IV sedation?  I have read on here that it is hit and miss.  The assistant told me I would remember very little about the appointment.  I am just wondering if this is true?  If anyone could share their experience with oral sedation, I would greatly appreciate it!!

 

[Cherish]

Hi Katyrae, I have been dental phobic for all of my life and like you I too have had bad experiences with dentists! Luckily though I have now found a good dentist who is very understanding of my anxietys, this of course is important to help you to overcome your fears. For the first time in 3 years I had 'two' fillings done in one sitting, one was very deep and involved quite a bit of drilling, but the good news is that I done it, I overcame my fears and everything went great
Like you are going to have, I had oral sedation too, Diazepam, and yes, you are right it can be a hit or miss issue with these and it also depends on how much you are having, as in dosage, how many Mg's are you going to be taking? In my case my Dr gave me some extra tablets so I could have a go with them at home to see how I got on which was very useful. All I can tell you is what I did and what I experienced, I took 7 mg of diazepam 30 minutes before my appointment time and then took a further 5 mg when I arrived at the dentist, I done this because in my experience diazepam seems to peak at around 25-40 minutes, thus I spaced out the dosage to even up this peak time enough to get me through the treatment. I felt very relaxed and quite calm once the tablets had kicked in, when I was in the chair at some points I felt a kind of small panic in my mind but because my body was so relaxed I felt reasured so my thoughts just kind of melted away, it was a good feeling! What also helped me was my cd walkman....a god send, as a distraction this is one which I highly recommend! Also, is there someone who can go with you? not just for support but also when taking oral sedatives you need someone to be with you. You know this time yesterday I was at my wits end I was so frightened, but now, well, I'm just glad I had them done and feel so much better having 'felt the fear and done it anyway!' I just kept telling myself 'I can handle this, I can handle this' it's amazing the power of the mind! I hope all goes well for you, keep us posted and good luck......Warm regards, Lolly

 

[katyrae83]

Cherish, thanks for the info.

Wednesday is just an exam so I have no idea what kind of pill they are going to give or how much. I am in Texas, and it is my understanding that Halcion is the drug of choice for dentists in the US. I read about it on drugs.com, and apparently it can cause amnesia for the period of time you are on it, which is what I prefer. My mom is going to take me to the exam, and to the appointment. She is also leery of dentists, but is not phobic. She has been very understanding about the whole thing though. But, in my opinion, if someone does not suffer from dental phobia, it is very hard for them to sympathize. I am glad I found this website, now I know that I am not all alone in my fears, and they don't feel so ridiculous.