I
ilostmysoul
Member
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2014
- Messages
- 31
Hello everyone!
I just had 2 adjacent molar extractions done yesterday! I was extremely anxious (and have been for the last month) and almost bailed, but went through with it.
I had electric anesthesia and nitrous and they definitely helped and I don't think I could have made it through so easily without them. It went super smooth and completely painless.
The worst part of the experience for me was, surprisingly, being put under nitrous. They covered my face with the mask and told me to breathe normally. However I was taking deep breaths for the first 5-10 seconds for some reason, and then it started kicking in.
I did not like the sensation of becoming less and less aware of what's going around me so it's like I started to fight back for control. I desperately wanted to feel like I could control my breathing and body again. And then I had what I think was a panic attack, for the first time in my life. My heart was racing extremely fast, I could hear it in my head, I've never sensed it beat so fast.
I started moving my legs and grabbing my chest and trying to get them to take off the mask. The dental assistant started being worried as well at that point because I was convinced I was going to have a heart attack and they would not realize it. As she was about to remove the mask my dentist (fortunately) did a last-minute effort and started talking to me in a calm voice to relax me.
And then I decided to not fight against it anymore and just went numb. From then on the experience went smoothly. I have no idea what they did the first 1-2 minutes after removing the mask because they immediately did something between that point and getting my nose mask, most likely the anesthesia I suspect. I was still so out of it I didn't care.
I don't know if I'm a suitable candidate for nitrous because I have allergies and sinus problems, so even though I can breathe through my nose, sometimes it's quite hard. Definitely felt that throughout the procedure. Breathing through my nose sometimes require my mouth to close slightly, at which point they would sometimes ask me to open it wide. In those cases I would usually breathe through my mouth to not get in the way. I think being so focused on my breathing did end up helping me too, though. Other than that, the procedure went through flawlessly.
I'm thinking of requesting the same combo (nitrous + electric anesthesia) again for future appointments where I have to do complex work (in the foreseeable future I still have one RCT on an upper molar and then one extraction + implant on a lower pre-molar). But right now I'm worried about whether or not that is a good idea, mostly because of my initial reaction to nitrous. Do you think it will be better the second time now that I've been through the experience? Are dentists used to this kind of reactions?
Thank you!
I just had 2 adjacent molar extractions done yesterday! I was extremely anxious (and have been for the last month) and almost bailed, but went through with it.
I had electric anesthesia and nitrous and they definitely helped and I don't think I could have made it through so easily without them. It went super smooth and completely painless.
The worst part of the experience for me was, surprisingly, being put under nitrous. They covered my face with the mask and told me to breathe normally. However I was taking deep breaths for the first 5-10 seconds for some reason, and then it started kicking in.
I did not like the sensation of becoming less and less aware of what's going around me so it's like I started to fight back for control. I desperately wanted to feel like I could control my breathing and body again. And then I had what I think was a panic attack, for the first time in my life. My heart was racing extremely fast, I could hear it in my head, I've never sensed it beat so fast.
I started moving my legs and grabbing my chest and trying to get them to take off the mask. The dental assistant started being worried as well at that point because I was convinced I was going to have a heart attack and they would not realize it. As she was about to remove the mask my dentist (fortunately) did a last-minute effort and started talking to me in a calm voice to relax me.
And then I decided to not fight against it anymore and just went numb. From then on the experience went smoothly. I have no idea what they did the first 1-2 minutes after removing the mask because they immediately did something between that point and getting my nose mask, most likely the anesthesia I suspect. I was still so out of it I didn't care.
I don't know if I'm a suitable candidate for nitrous because I have allergies and sinus problems, so even though I can breathe through my nose, sometimes it's quite hard. Definitely felt that throughout the procedure. Breathing through my nose sometimes require my mouth to close slightly, at which point they would sometimes ask me to open it wide. In those cases I would usually breathe through my mouth to not get in the way. I think being so focused on my breathing did end up helping me too, though. Other than that, the procedure went through flawlessly.
I'm thinking of requesting the same combo (nitrous + electric anesthesia) again for future appointments where I have to do complex work (in the foreseeable future I still have one RCT on an upper molar and then one extraction + implant on a lower pre-molar). But right now I'm worried about whether or not that is a good idea, mostly because of my initial reaction to nitrous. Do you think it will be better the second time now that I've been through the experience? Are dentists used to this kind of reactions?
Thank you!
