Major dental work in one visit-opinion

[Pocblue]

I live in Atlanta, Georgia, USA and need to have major dental work. Approximately 3 root canals and crowns on almost all of my teeth. The dentist has said that he could do all of this work in one major visit for the crown prep and root canals using oral sedation and then a second visit for the crown application a few weeks later.

Is this an unrealistic plan? I have anxiety so fewer visits and being sedated sounds like a good idea but want to see what members of this forum think. Any comments would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Kay

 

[Enarete]

Hi Kay,

I see the advantage you would have from sedation and doing the work in as few visits as possible and why it sounds tempting. The approach when it comes to dental anxiety should always be not only to treat your teeth, but to treat your anxiety. As long as you are nervous and not used to cope with treatment in a "normal" way, you will still struggle with receiving dental care in the future, which would be a pitty. The best approach is therefore to go at your own pace and spread the work into appointments you can cope with in ordrer to get used to treatment gradually. Sedation is a great addition if you need urgent treatment that goes above what you can cope with at the moment, however it leaves your anxiety right where it was so should you need a treatment next time, it will most likely be as hard as it is now. Relying only on sedation is therefore something that might not be the best choice for the future.

On a side note, the combination of living in US, needing extensive treatment (crowns on almost all teeth) and a dentist suggesting few visits and sedation makes me wonder whether it might be a good idea to get a second opinion to make sure all the treatment really is necessary. Just in case.

All the best wishes

 

[MountainMama]

I agree with Enarete about possibly getting a second opnion. Unless, of course, you already are very comfortable with your dentist and trust them.

I combine dental work whenever I can to minimize time spent at the dentist, but I would hesitate on doing crown prep and root canals at the same time. How long are they planning to spend? The two root canals I had done took 90 minutes each, and the crown prep on a molar took 2 hours! I would worry about the dentist rushing.
Could you not get oral sedation for each visit separately, and at least split it into 2 visits?

 

[krlovesherkids777]

Kay,

First off good for going and getting the appt to see what is going on and start the process. Is this a dentist you've seen much? It sounds like you have little doubts and don't feel quite comfortable but the same time want to get your work done. I would worry about rushing too a little doing all things at once. at the same time if you knew and trusted this dentist and knew their work was unhurried then maybe they are trying to help you in their own way. Do they know about your dental anxiety much and how you cope with different dental procedures? I would just make sure you are comfortable with whatever you do and not feel rushed to do all at once. I agree with Enarete about taking your time and really helping your anxiety through the process .. REally wish you the best. sorry if this is scattered.. lots of thoughts...

 

[comfortdentist]

I would also recommend a second opinion. There are two parts here. Are you best treated at this time with many crowns? Part of that would include having a history of prevention so whatever caused you to have such a severe problem is now under good control. Secondly how would you achieve the best result? Sometimes it is nice to do a large area at one time while other times it is better to treat smaller sections especially when there is a commitment to continue with care.