Petrified of upcoming complex extraction

[claireytoo]

I have an upcoming extraction in 1 week.

I have severe dental phobia and have been putting off dealing with this broken/decayed tooth that previously had RCT.

It is an upper molar that has been broken at the gum for 6months.
The dentist has referred me to an oral surgeon and told me not to worry, but added that this will be a complex extraction due to the condition of the tooth.

I am beyond petrified of the whole procedure. The injections, the 'complex' removal, the healing time and potential complications after.

I'm so worried this will be a lengthy and traumatic procedure. I have been offered oral valium, which I will take, but have found in the past this has little to no sedative effect for me at the doses given (5mg).

Looking for reassurance and any success stories on this type of extraction please. I'm so frightened. It's all I can think about after making the app.

 

[the34guy2024]

@claireytoo Maybe try posting in the Ask a dentist - for nervous patients only threads...you may get a response there as well ...good luck to you as well

 

[Enarete]

Hi claireytoo ,

first of all well done on plucking up the courage to finally dealwith that tooht, that's really brave! I see how hearing "complex" doesn't sound much reassuring, does it?

When it comes to the injections, having an upper molar to be numbed up is the best thing as the injections can be delivered totally painlessly and if you want the right person to do it super well, it's oral surgeon. They have the best technique and chances are you won't even notice.

When it comes to the complex part - well, you never know what does that even mean? Maybe it means that the dentist himself found it difficult and referred you because of that. Maybe the surgeon won't find it complex at all. Maybe the complex means that it needs more focus or another technique, but that does not mean that you will even notice.

For recovery, I had all four of my wisdom teeth out at once and the recovery was super easy, with cooling and pain meds. I think chances are that you will be fine with just one tooth.

Is there anything particular that you worry may happen? And would it be an idea to have a chat with the surgeon beforehand to let them explain how they will make sure you will be fine?

All the best wishes

 

[dentalnelly]

If it helps, I got referred to the hospital for my one extraction because my dentist didn't feel like he was the best person to do the job as my tooth roots are long and close to the nerve in my lower jaw.

It cracked as they were extracting it but it was nothing more than tugging my end. It was no more than 10 minutes. No pain, just tugging. Healed up just fine, it's been 15 years so I don't remember super specifically my recovery. They give you aftercare guidance. Best thing is to not smoke if you do, stay away from straws and keep on a painkiller schedule.

My brother had his tooth turn into a surgical extraction at the hospital after it wouldn't come out properly so all they did was cut the gum and sew him up but he was absolutely fine. He has an implant now.

I think when they say it's complex it's largely about skill set and less about what you will go through as a patient.

 

[claireytoo]

@Enarete
Thank you for your reply.

I'm worried as numbing injections have not worked well on me in the past.
I'm also worried about the infection having travelled into the jaw and neighbouring teeth as I now periodically experience pain in that area (even though the tooth is root canaled and so shouldn't hurt?)
I'm worried my face shape will change. That I may lose my other molar (also root canal with no crown) or canine next door.
The dentist said 'I have to warn you this will be a more difficult extraction because of the condition of the tooth' but added 'don't worry because the oral surgeon is very good'.

Dental phobia sucks. Especially when you actually have problems and the complications are real possibility.

 

[claireytoo]

Update. All done...here's how it went in case its of any help to anyone...

I didn't mention I am in Thailand. Dental work here is excellent and generally affordable. But I could not afford the fancy International Dental hospitals with sedation etc.

The small clinic I visited booked me in with their oral surgeon who it turns out works both there and the International Hospital.

He was excellent. Very patient with my nerves and shaking. Explained the procedure. Even gave me a pillow to squeeze!

He took one look and said 'this will be easy'

I was numbed very well 1st time which is a first for me.
15 minutes, and £38 later I was on my way home!!

I was given thorough after care instructions along with some fresh gauze and ibuprofen.

He said there was no need for antibiotics as there was no infection.

I didn't get stitches. I am a little surprised about this as everything I read avoit surgical extraction suggested this would probably be the case. I guess I have to trust in his decision.

Just the healing stage to focus on now. Currentl biting down on a gauze as I type. A little nervous about how it will go. But feeling 100 times better than I was this time yesterday.

Still fearfully of post op complications, but time will tell I suppose.

Thank you to everyone for their support.

 

[Enarete]

Hey, what a lovely report! Give yourself a pat on the back! so glad it all went well. Surgeons are usually super skilled in numbing and know some extra tricks. My favourite part is that he said that it was easy. This confirms the idea that "complex" doesn't always mean complex
Try not to worry about the stitches. "Surgical" extraction is a term for a particular kind of extractions. Not everything is "surgical" just because the person doing that is a surgeon. Most extractions do not need stitches and if you were out in 15 minutes, it is even less likely that you needed some.

Wishing you a speedy recovery. Thanks again for sharing this with us. It will be a huge encouragement for many others

 

[claireytoo]

@Enarete thank you for your kind words and support. Whilst I am still fearful of what comes next and other issues I need to address. This felt like a massive step in the right direction, and I hope my experience will be of help to others.
All the best!

 

[Stewart]

Hey, what a lovely report! Give yourself a pat on the back! so glad it all went well. Surgeons are usually super skilled in numbing and know some extra tricks. My favourite part is that he said that it was easy. This confirms the idea that "complex" doesn't always mean complex
Try not to worry about the stitches. "Surgical" extraction is a term for a particular kind of extractions. Not everything is "surgical" just because the person doing that is a surgeon. Most extractions do not need stitches and if you were out in 15 minutes, it is even less likely that you needed some.

Wishing you a speedy recovery. Thanks again for sharing this with us. It will be a huge encouragement for many others

If i said I highly refute all of that, would my post be instantly ignored or more than likely removed?

 

[claireytoo]

@Stewart either you are a troll or a deeply troubled individual. I do not appreciate your direct messages and would support your comments being removed or deleted. I have, infact, reported you for this reason.

 

[Stewart]

Youre absolutely right, i am deeply troubled. MASSIVELY troubled.

If someone could actually help with it, lord knows what rewards id provide that person.

 

[Stewart]

Please, Please dont ban me

I am not a troll. I am 100% NOT a troll.

Im just desperate for REAL help. I dont know what to do.

 

[letsconnect]

Im just desperate for REAL help. I dont know what to do.

First thing to do would be to stop setting up multiple accounts and sending insulting messages to other members. For this reason, your direct message system has been disabled, and your forum messages will need pre-approval.

Secondly, have you looked into IV sedation? There is more information on this page:

IV Sedation

Find out all about IV dental sedation: what does it feel like, is it safe, and how do the sedation drugs midazolam and remimazolam differ?

www.dentalfearcentral.org

 

[Stewart]

First thing to do would be to stop setting up multiple accounts and sending insulting messages to other members. For this reason, your direct message system has been disabled, and your forum messages will need pre-approval.

Secondly, have you looked into IV sedation? There is more information on this page:

IV Sedation

Find out all about IV dental sedation: what does it feel like, is it safe, and how do the sedation drugs midazolam and remimazolam differ?

www.dentalfearcentral.org

I still dont think I can do the IV, i considered it not so long ago but I dont think I can do it.

For one id still have to be treated anyway, and as soon as the IV wore off, I would go back to being a mess knowing I HAD been treated and what they HAD done to me, which perhaps at the time i was just unconscious enough not to mind

 

[geos]

I still dont think I can do the IV, i considered it not so long ago but I dont think I can do it.

For one id still have to be treated anyway, and as soon as the IV wore off, I would go back to being a mess knowing I HAD been treated and what they HAD done to me, which perhaps at the time i was just unconscious enough not to mind

IV sedation comes with an amnesia effect. While you know you were treated, you don’t remember the experience. This might change the way you feel after treatment.

 

[Stewart]

IV sedation comes with an amnesia effect. While you know you were treated, you don’t remember the experience. This might change the way you feel after treatment.

Its a little hard to explain this, please dont laugh, but i will still be traumatised by what they did to me that I cant remember, because i know what theyve done to me involves from not being sedated, and i will still have mental breakdowns about it. ive thought a lot about IV previously.

Ill also still have the buildup of knowing what theyre going to do to me, which gives me a whole range of awful emotions

It wont stop me still imagining drilling sound, painful injections and the whole dental experience in general because that past memory is there.

If my memory was a hard disk and i could be rebooted, then that might work

 

[Stewart]

@geos

I also struggle to understand the logic people employ here that when you find a dentist you like, then somehow you believe youll never ever get hurt again, this just makes absolutely no sense to me at all.

Even if it doesnt "hurt" as such, the feelings of "pressure" as they would put it are deeply uncomfortable and make me vomit, pass out, get anxious, get angry, everything

 

[geos]

@Stewart

The clinic I go too has an anesthesiologist that monitors my sedation. His job, is to stop all dental work if I reach a point I seam uncomfortable. He makes sure I’m comfortable before letting the work continue.

In a none sedated dentist relationship, one would want something similar, where if anything is uncomfortable out of the normal, we stop and adjust before continuing.

I remember those feelings of being uncomfortable, nauseated, anxious, angry, when I would see my previous, regular dentist. But I don’t have them now.

 

[Enarete]

Its a little hard to explain this, please dont laugh, but i will still be traumatised by what they did to me that I cant remember, because i know what theyve done to me involves from not being sedated, and i will still have mental breakdowns about it. ive thought a lot about IV previously.

Ill also still have the buildup of knowing what theyre going to do to me, which gives me a whole range of awful emotions

It wont stop me still imagining drilling sound, painful injections and the whole dental experience in general because that past memory is there.

If my memory was a hard disk and i could be rebooted, then that might work

Your situation is a difficult one because there are so many contradictions in you. The way you describe this sounds als if you feel massively violated and on mercy of "them" and I am sure you have reasons to feel like that. There is also this part of you that does not want to do dentist and is okay with it. And still a part that somehow wants help. But then acting rudely, challenging people, accusations, questioning the purpose of a community - that makes getting help very difficult I'm afraid. So overall, this is an impasse as you probably have figured.

 

[Stewart]

Your situation is a difficult one because there are so many contradictions in you. The way you describe this sounds als if you feel massively violated and on mercy of "them" and I am sure you have reasons to feel like that. There is also this part of you that does not want to do dentist and is okay with it. And still a part that somehow wants help. But then acting rudely, challenging people, accusations, questioning the purpose of a community - that makes getting help very difficult I'm afraid. So overall, this is an impasse as you probably have figured.

I suppose the bet way I can sum it up is this:

1) I will do ANYTHING not to go to the dentist, for a whole host of reasons.

2) Id be really happy not going to the dentist if i KNEW i wouldnt ever have any problems with pain. In the sense I dont want whiter teeth, i dont want straighter teeth, i dont want a radiant smile or any of that. That sort of thing does not resonate with me at all, nor am I embarrased about my teeth even if they are wonky and could be whiter

3) I acknowledge that I have to put in the bare minimum of maintenance to ensure this, but in doing so I have to go to the dentist, which sets of an almost apocalyptic chain of negativity. Hence i try to keep this to an absolute minimum as if I had to go to the dentist regularly, I would 100% commit suicide. Life would be utterly pointless to me.

4) Even if i had pain, which is extremely rare, my tolerance to the pain would be much higher than my want to go to the dentist. or in other words, it would most likely take me significant pain to think a dentist trip was worthwhile

5) Feelings of violation i believe probably come from multiple times people and dentists pretend things dont hurt that do. They CLEARLY hurt. So you cant fob me off pretending they dont, it doesnt work. It also doesnt work to dangle a carrot at me like "swap your dentist for a better one and youll have wonderful pain free experiences". No. You. Wont. In fact ive had great relationships with medical professionals who have said this WILL cause you pain, and talk in great detail about why they are doing what they are doing. But fundamentally, i respect them far more than dentists too because theyve positively affected my life. Its a profession i personally have little respect for.

I also feel like ive been caused UNNECESSARY pain by being told I need extractions or cleanings etc when ive felt absolutely fine. Maybe i wouldnt be fine in a few months time, but at that time I was fine, hence why did you hurt me? At least if i was in pain, theres be some point to why yo did something to me.

6) Mentally, im not prepared as to have such archaic and silly treatments that belong in a torture dungeon to fix a problem. Why on earth equipment has to sound as ridiculous as it does, that you need sharp hooks and drills in your mouth and endless needles is totally beyond me.

7) I try to be a good person but the sheer anger i end up feeling sometimes just takes over and i hit out at people who have the craziest experiences of being cured by highly invasive dental treatment. Seems at best odd.

8) on a rational, adult level, i realise I have to keep forcng myself to go somewhat, even though the experience does me an untold amount of damage

9) There is no help. And thats not anyones fault. Its just it gets to a point where suck it up and go is the only thing you can say to someone, in the absence of wiping their entire brain to the point they have no concept of what dentistry even is and start from there. And somehow do everything perfectly, every sngle time, without fail. Which would never happen.

10) I suppose in some ways, "help" would be to validate you are a normal person and not an idiot if you choose not to go, but i feel theres a stigma around that.