Little scared....epi in shots

[MissAbigail]

Ive had some broken molars that fillings fell out of for a long time..never bothered me and there in the back, so yea just put it off..recently i lost a part of a filling in my front tooth..Obviously Im afraid of the dentist or i wouldnt be in this forum..so i put the little piece of front tooth off aswell..
Today Im watchin football drinkin a beer at the neighbors and thier dog jumps up hits my beer bootle knocks it into my tooth and BAM half the tooth breaks off..I look like a damn jackolantern!! My fear isnt of the dentist itself really, I realized that there is epi in novacaine and since then i have been terrified to go to the dentist. I have panic attack disorder, anything that makes my heart race scares me badly. What im going to have to do is have the tooth pulled and get a partial, i cannot afford a crown and i cant walk around like this, it sucks because i know the tooth can be saved. Anywho, when having an extraction is it possible not to have EPI in the shot? I figured i would have to because it helps control bleeding. And if i do can i have a ton of reassurance that the amount of EPI is so small i shouldnt notice it? I just need to be reminded nothing bad is going to happen to me and i will feel loads better once i get this over with. Going to try and find a dentist that will take me in hopefully tommarow afternoon, i really dont want to go to work like this. Thanks for reading and any support is appreciated

 

[Zzzdentist]

You can ask for no-epi in the anesthetic. Carbocaine comes to mind. Keep the piece, and bring it in to the dentist in some milk to see if they can just rebond the fragment back on. It depends on it the nerve is exposed or not. The human body needs epinephrine to function, and it can certainly handle the amount of epinephrine in anesthetic.

Even if it's all given intravenously, although it would be a bit of a rush, the body should be able to manage. Do healthy people die running for bus when it makes their heart race? Not usually. With careful aspiration checks, most intravascular injections are usually avoided.

Sometimes the dentist can do a large filling to repair a tooth rather than a crown.

 

[MissAbigail]

Thanks fo the reply The peice of tooth accually shattered. I think it was accually a part of the large filling from before. The funny thing about this is..Ive been to the dentist many times and never had an issue with the shot, and I would assume that there was EPI in it all the other times and it never bothered me..Im only scared now becuase Im thinking about it. Hopefully I will be able to just remind myself that Ive done this before and nothing happened. If i find myself too nervous I will just ask for no EPI.

 

[MissAbigail]

Heres another ridiculous question....lets say I have a panic attack with the injection, and im already getting loads of adrenaline through my blood, will the extra adrenaline in the shot mess up my heart? So silly i know.

 

[Zzzdentist]

I think you'll be absolutely fine, and if not, you can come back here and tell everyone that Zzzdentist doesn't know what he's talking about. How's that for a deal?

Just make sure to let the dentist know about your panic attacks and your concerns about the epinephrine. I'm sure he'll be very vigilant about aspirating during the injection so you won't have to worry about anything. It'll most likely be exactly like your previous experiences before you began worrying about the epinephrine.

 

[MissAbigail]

Ahhhh ok, you just set my mind at ease a ton. Basically as long as they aspirate and dont hit a blood vessel, I shouldnt feel nasty side effects from it. I thought it made your heart race like crazy no matter what. Good to know

 

[MissAbigail]

Ok, I have one more question, (not about epi) Have you had a patient that did a Patrial denture for a front tooth? I have a partial already from when i was younger, I broke my K9 teeth, and it looks fine, just curious how it usually turns out on a front tooth.

 

[Zzzdentist]

It can depend on the situation, but I've made some that blend in quite well. For example, I made one for my mom years ago, and she's still using it to replace one of her front teeth.

 

[MissAbigail]

Well hopefully it comes out looking good. It certainly cant look any worse than it looks right now lol. Im really nervous. I get my exam tommarow, So im thinking that once i meet the dentist and feel a bit more comfortable there it wont be as bad. I have to do it so im gunna tough it out no matter what. Thank you for taking the time to reply. Sometime next week i will be back here thanking you and telling you that you were right and i did fine