N20 and anxiety

[pauld]

Hi

I just wanted to tell my little story so it will help others..

Yesterday I had three root canals done under Nitros.

For five years I suffered a broken tooth, and for the last 4 months tooth ache. Been to dentists before with no probs, had teeth pulled roots done etc. Then in my adult life I learnt anxiety which is behaviour related, and not an illness. I now have a fear of walking out half way through the dentist due to anxiety, crazy hey!! also a wonderful fear of any procedure medical, it scares me to death, this dentist appointment had woke me every morn at 5 or so in the morn with panic.

On the day of the appointment I was determined to go and get the work done as I was totally fed up with tooth ache and feeling worried, I guess for me its trusting someone with my body which is frighenting. But this dentist was wonderful.

So any way I opted for nitros, read somewhere that nitros makes anxiety worse, well from my experience it worked 100% for me, I was 100% relaxed and only whined a little when when I got disturbed for the injection to which I just breathed more nitros in and made me forget all about the whole thing, I must have dropped off for a few mins here and there, but didnt go fully to sleep.

This dentist answered every question I had to ask, which was loads and I was nearly crying, bear in mind and I am 34 5'11 and well built, he reassured me over and over, they would monitor me and look after me, he was fantastic.

This is my message to anyone who is worried about a dental procedure and is panicked by the thought of gas, or IV, I have had both and both were 100% fine for me and my anxiety was high folks, very high. I havent had any side effects from the gas as there isnt any, IV took a long time to get over, but nitros will be for me from now on everytime well worth every penny and I will go to the dentist every six months from now on knowing I can have nitros when I need work.

Hope this helps someone, there are always options for us, no one should meet an empty road with no where to turn.

Rgds

Paul

 

[anya]

Thank you so much for taking the time to post this. I have to have a root canal in two weeks and because I am needle phobic, the dentist is going to use nitrous. I am terrified that it won't work and that I will be trapped there in pain and in fear. Your story helped me so thank you for that. Could you possibly explain what the nitrous feels like? Were you aware of what the dentist was doing to you? (I don't want to be aware of what is going on or even that I am in the dentist's room and chair).

 

[pauld]

Hey dont worry too much, was in panic mode at the dentist believe me, but I like you was worried sick that the nitros wouldnt work, would I be sick, would have the room spinning, would I be awake, etc etc etc, and I asked the dentist all these questions before he done anything, and he assured me I would be fine 100% and I was.

Getting the needle is also the part I hate the most, I was stirred by the jab but he said he put a topical on first and then done a little bit of injecting at a time and was talking to me the whole time, I groaned cause when you have nitros you dont want to be distubted, you are 100% at peace with the world trust me, you dont give a ** about what is going on, but you are awake but very very comfortable. I wouldnt recomend this unless it had worked and I wrote on here to record that this worked 100% for me, I was talking to the dentist and laughing and joking, bear in mind five mins before the nitros I was very nearly in tears....

You will be fine, you will know what they are doing, but you will not be bothered at all.

 

[anya]

You were talking to the dentist you say? So you can still have a conversation while on nitrous?
Do I understand you correctly that the nitrous does not kill the pain and that you still need an injection then?
Sorry for all the questions...I am just very very scared and need to know what is going to happen and what it is going to be like. I appreciate everything you can tell me.
Thank you!!

 

[pauld]

Hi

You do not go to sleep unless there is over use of nitrous, even though I was so relaxed I did fall asleep. Even if you have IV you still get a local injection, and yes you are awake with nitrous. The nitrous does numb you in that you don't really care what the hell is going on. It removes all anxiety from the situation and you are 100% relaxed. My legs felt heavy, my arms were heavy, I kicked my boots off - that was how relaxed I felt, and if I wanted to say anything I could.

You can make a list of things to ask the dentist, ring the reception and ask their advice, I also done that before I went. I asked my dentist twenty questions when I got there, I was panicking, like you, but once in that chair, I put the mask on my nose and then I was fine. You have to just concentrate on breathing through your nose.

Did I feel pain the answer is very little but however a little which with one or two breaths of nitrous I forgot/wasn't worried about. When you get an injection just breathe the nitrous shut your eyes and you will forget everything about it.

I was really frightened of having nitrous having never had it before, I even went to see my doctor to make sure it's safe, he said you will be fine, and I was.

Nitrous is what they give people in England who have really bad injuries like in an RTA, road traffic accident, that way they can talk to you and see that you are safe and well. Also, women in labour use it very effectively. So it should work fine for you at the dentist.

 

[libs]

I dont suppose anyone knows if this gas is the same gas they used to use years back at dentists. ( im 37 now ) and as a child i clearly remember having to have gas for some treatment and woke up with a thick taste of it in my mouth ( along with blood ) and just feeling really sick and awful.

This sounds so different from experiances ive read on here with gas. I need 8 front teeth extracted and an immediate denture put in soon and my dentist dosnt do IV so gas is the only option

 

[brit]

You were talking to the dentist you say? So you can still have a conversation while on nitrous?
Do I understand you correctly that the nitrous does not kill the pain and that you still need an injection then?
Sorry for all the questions...I am just very very scared and need to know what is going to happen and what it is going to be like. I appreciate everything you can tell me.
Thank you!!

My understanding (I used it briefly in childbirth and have had old gas GA in UK NHS) is that nitrous does have some numbing properties for the soft tissues i.e. gums, hence why it can be good for cleanings but as Pauld said even with i/v you still get local anaesthetic...it is only when you have a general anaesthetic (completely unconscious) that no numbing is required...however if you are having a root canal, as Letsconnect said elsewhere if the nerve is completely dead, you may not need local anaesthetic but usually it is best to have it anyway as it removes all risk of painful sensation pretty much.... and so enables you to relax...but nitrous will also enable you to relax sufficiently so that an injection of LA will not bother you..(NB.there are dentists who can do these comfortably with gels and good technique with conventional syringes; or even special methods of giving LA such as TheWand'..so the comfort level does vary from dentist to dentist and even position in the mouth) even if your dentist doesn't have the best technique.
The other thing to bear in mind is that conscious sedation such as nitrous is extremely safe whereas GA (if possible) is very expensive and ultimately has a risk of death attached which nitrous and i/v do not.

When I used nitrous during childbirth whilst waiting for and during the administration of my epidural....it compressed time for me and there were bits where I remember nothing at all and it felt like I'd floated up to the ceiling hung around for a while and then come back...weird....but welcome and 5 mins later I was fine just with the epidural having taken effect.
It could well be that you will be completely relaxed and unbothered by everything so maybe it's best to just trust your dentist in the knowledge that you will be able to communicate if sth is not comfortable for you.
Let us know how it goes

 

[brit]

I dont suppose anyone knows if this gas is the same gas they used to use years back at dentists. ( im 37 now ) and as a child i clearly remember having to have gas for some treatment and woke up with a thick taste of it in my mouth ( along with blood ) and just feeling really sick and awful.

This sounds so different from experiances ive read on here with gas. I need 8 front teeth extracted and an immediate denture put in soon and my dentist dosnt do IV so gas is the only option

I'd say it is different and is done to a different level of intensity...with the old gas GA you were being forced into unconsciousness....I hated that but I was happy to use nitrous 20 odd years later in childbirth.