• Dental Phobia Support

    Welcome! This is an online support group for anyone who is has a severe fear of the dentist or dental treatment. Please note that this is NOT a general dental problems or health anxiety forum! You can find a list of them here.

    Register now to access all the features of the forum.

Re: wisdom teeth with i/v sedation piece of cake

B

baileymonster

Junior member
Joined
May 22, 2009
Messages
3
Re: wisdom teeth with i/v sedation piece of cake

Hello I have panic disorder and have suffered with such for 4 years now.
I just had all 4 impacted wisdom teeth removed this Wednesday under Local Anesthesia and IV Sedation.

Believe me if your one to panic or this is your first time. IV Sedation is the way to go!! They actually put stuff in your IV to come your panics down. You are not "put to sleep". You are breathing on your own and everything you just are so relaxed you just wanted to close your eyes and rest.

I had my surgery this Wednesday and I was so nervous I had 3 serious panic attacks before I made it to the doctor. I thought I was actually going to back out. But I knew there were more benefits to getting it done, so I tried to calm myself down and just did it.

This is what happend. They called my name, I walked with the assistant to the room, she sat me down. Doctor walked in. He sat down. They put a oxygen tube on my nose (that was nice) and then he strayed this cold wet stuff on my hand before he gave me the IV. (helps pain). I felt NOTHING.
Then he injected the stuff in the IV and all I felt was really calm. Remember the doctor saying "well you have you heart rate up a little, but not too bad so lets start". I remember them talking to each other and they put a cloth over my face with a whole around the mouth so they could work. Felt them place something on my mouth to hold it open during the surgery.
Felt 1 maybe 2 pinches in my mouth where they were putting in the Local Anesthesia. They had 2 more shots to do to numb me up...but I was so relaxed by that point that I wanted to sleep. I was told I didn't, but I don't remember nothing after that up a cold pack around my face and the nurse assistant trying to help me up and taking me to recovery. I walked on my own and everything.

I am a real controlling person when it comes to worrying about whether others will take care of if I don't know what's going on myself. But if you get your teeth out and very scare. I HIGHLY SUGGEST not to use just Local Anesthesia because that is just the shots to numb and you will feel that and you hear everything and you will panic. To add the IV Sedation is a MIRACLE.

I had such a wonderful experience on IV Sedation that I wish everything I had a panic attack I could have someone shoot me with that stuff to calm me down. I'm on day 3 after surgery and I can tell you this. Surgery was a PIECE OF CAKE. I would let my doctor do that again 100 times over if he wanted to. The Recovery is the harest part. No of it is painful if you follow your doctors suggestion. The worst part is keeping up with your med's every 4 to 6 hours even over night. And making sure you eat a little bit each time with them so you dont' get sick. Everything else has been GREAT!!!

So glad I trusted in my doctor and got this taken care of.
He sugguested IV Sedation since I have panic disorder and he was OH SO RIGHT!

Great experience.

Hope your experiences are great.
If you decided on IV Sedation......please don't panic or get nervous.
Because your really wasting your time and energy on nothing. It is really and truly a piece of cake. It's harder to write out a check for my mortage than what I had to deal with in surgery. And my doctor even had complications with my teeth that took him 30 minutes longer...but I no clue because it felt like 3 minutes. I was in recovery for 45 minutes more...but that felt like 2 minutes.

Kristie:thumbsup:
 
Re: wisdom teeth with i/v sedation piece of cake

I am having my wisdom teeth out next week (on Wednesday) and I am still so scared I even started crying just now trying to write to you. Please tell me what recovery is really like without scaring me. Besides the medicines, what is hard about recovery for you?
 
Re: wisdom teeth with i/v sedation piece of cake

I am having my wisdom teeth out next week (on Wednesday) and I am still so scared I even started crying just now trying to write to you. Please tell me what recovery is really like without scaring me. Besides the medicines, what is hard about recovery for you?


I had mine done two weeks ago and was completely knocked out. The worst part is the anticipation. It was over (what it felt like to me) 5 minutes. You just have to be really good with cleaning the areas. I would recommend, if they don't give you a syringe to either ask or buy one, it's so much easier to clean the sockets with warm salt water. I had to go back yesterday to get them cleaned out then they gave me the syringe!:confused:

Def. don't drink through a straw for awhile. I had minimal swelling. The first day I did ice packs, 2nd and 3rd days I did heat. Make sure to take your antibiotics and pain pills (I didn't like them so I just took advil)


Don't be nervous, I was the same way you are now, now it's all over I'm glad :)
 
Re: wisdom teeth with i/v sedation piece of cake

Thank you. I already bought a water pik to use instead of the syringe thing. I read a few times that they are hard to use, and it should do the same thing but easier with the water pik.

Do you still have holes in your mouth? Do you know how long it should take for them to heal over?
 
Re: wisdom teeth with i/v sedation piece of cake

Thank you. I already bought a water pik to use instead of the syringe thing. I read a few times that they are hard to use, and it should do the same thing but easier with the water pik.

Do you still have holes in your mouth? Do you know how long it should take for them to heal over?

Nope, I don't see any holes, just looks like what it did before. My right side is slightly raised, but I think it's where the food irritated it or it could be just the way it heals.

To be quite honest, if the surgeon does a good job, you really shouldn't see any holes, just clean really good on the sides of the teeth to push the food out!

Good luck! :jump:
 
Re: wisdom teeth with i/v sedation piece of cake

Nope, I don't see any holes, just looks like what it did before. My right side is slightly raised, but I think it's where the food irritated it or it could be just the way it heals.

To be quite honest, if the surgeon does a good job, you really shouldn't see any holes, just clean really good on the sides of the teeth to push the food out!

Good luck! :jump:


Thank you. That is the best news I have heard in weeks. I have been really grossed out by the thought of big disgusting bloody holes in my mouth.

Could you tell me how long your mouth kept bleeding after the surgery?
 
Re: wisdom teeth with i/v sedation piece of cake

Thank you. That is the best news I have heard in weeks. I have been really grossed out by the thought of big disgusting bloody holes in my mouth.

Could you tell me how long your mouth kept bleeding after the surgery?


Let's see, I would say maybe an hour, it wasn't bad at all. It just depends on how you react and if you clot real easily. The gauze, I will tell you, tastes awful when it gets soaked! I would recommend have like a drip cup where you can just not spit per say but let the drool kind of just drip out of your mouth.
I still have my paper that they gave me from the oral surgeon..now, this is just what my oral surgeons office goes by, yours might give you different instructions, but I think it might be helpful knowing beforehand what to expect, wish I had the paper before I went in!

*After your teeth were removed a gauze compress was placed on the surgical area. Bite down firmly on this compress and keep constant pressure on the wound for 45-60 minutes to control bleeding
*Should bleeding continue when you return home, place a clean gauze over the surgical area and apply pressure as described above. This procedure may need to be repeated 3 or 4 times with a fresh compress.

*Do not rinse the mouth or do any spitting the day of surgery.
*Do not use a straw the day of surgery-promotes bleeding.
*Ice packs should be used intermittently on the day of surgery in order to minimize swelling. You may apply heat after the 1st day through the 3rd day, swelling may be most pronounced on the 3rd day. (I really didn't have any noticible swelling and I followed these instructions, some say to just use ice but I did the cold and then heat)
* Follow a cool diet the day of surgery, including plenty of liquids( I drank gatorade, ice cream, pudding, applesauce, jello)
*You may experience nausea and vomiting with the use of GA (I puked because I didn't eat with one of my pills, wasn't too great!)

Hope this helps! ;D
 
Re: wisdom teeth with i/v sedation piece of cake

Will I really need a drip cup to keep drooling out blood? There will be that much coming out? I really don't deal well with blood at all. I passed out every time I lost a baby tooth because I knew my mouth was bleeding. I already warned my husband that he's going to have to change gauze for me. If I just change the gauze more often will that make it so I won't need to drool out blood.

Thank you for all your help so far. It really helps to talk to someone who just did this.
 
Re: wisdom teeth with i/v sedation piece of cake

Will I really need a drip cup to keep drooling out blood? There will be that much coming out? I really don't deal well with blood at all. I passed out every time I lost a baby tooth because I knew my mouth was bleeding. I already warned my husband that he's going to have to change gauze for me. If I just change the gauze more often will that make it so I won't need to drool out blood.

Thank you for all your help so far. It really helps to talk to someone who just did this.


haha, nah the bleeding shouldn't be that bad (everybody is different tho), but when you change your gauzes you might want to drool out some extra saliva in there, (that's when I used the cup) or I guess you could swallow it lol I chose to drool it out...it's really up to you! Maybe you should just think of it as cherry kool-aid!! Anything to help you not pass out :-*

Also, prep your head up if you lie down


I know! it does help, I read a lot of posts on here about the surgery and it did help a bit too.
 
Re: wisdom teeth with i/v sedation piece of cake

Do you know how they kept all the blood during the surgery from going down your throat? Did they just use one of those spit sucker things like they have at the regular dentists office?
 
Re: wisdom teeth with i/v sedation piece of cake

Do you know how they kept all the blood during the surgery from going down your throat? Did they just use one of those spit sucker things like they have at the regular dentists office?


I really don't know honey, I was asleep. But i would assume with every procedure they use that sucker thing so they would use it for wisdom teeth surgery!

Don't worry! I'm sure they wouldn't just let anything just drip down your throat!!
 
Re: wisdom teeth with i/v sedation piece of cake

They really look after you with IV sedation... and the best part of it (that I found very reassuring) is that they can reverse it in a matter of minutes if there should be any kind of problem - you're out for as long as they keep that IV running so it's a lot more controllable than giving you a tablet/s that take hours to work and more hours to wear off... if there should be any kind of problem, they can just turn the thing off and wake you up again. But they won't need to because they know what they're doing.

And you don't have any time to panic because it's so quick and painless and simple. In my case I sat down in the chair and they put the oxygen sensor thingy on my finger and stuck the little tube in my nose, and then they gave me the IV and less than 30 seconds later it was all over and they were telling me I could go home.

I had very little pain or discomfort afterwards because my muscles were so relaxed that I wasn't fighting the surgeon and tensing up the way I usually do... I really recommend it for anyone phobic. I wish I could have ALL my dentristy done that way!
 
Re: wisdom teeth with i/v sedation piece of cake

I agree, it is a piece of cake.

My sitch: age - 28; wisdom teeth - all four erupted; procedure - iv sedation, yesterday; level of anxiety before operation - I put it off for 12 years, cancelled about 4 separate appointments, nervous wreck for two weeks before operation.

My story: Of course, I was really nervous before the procedure so I read a great deal of the posts on this website. It helped IMMENSELY! :) Thank you all! I started to feel pretty good about the situation until yesterday (the day of my operation) at about 0600 (the operation was at 0900). I became REAL nervous / scared all over again, but took a lot of deep breaths all the way to the hospital, it helped a little bit. Once I got into the waiting room and checked in I felt like I was going to vomit and pass-out, but found that rubbing my head and kind of pacing around seemed to help.

They called my name and took me back to the room where the operation would take place. When I sat down in the chair and they threw the warm blanket on me I had the sudden urge to stand up and walk out. I knew that I had to remain strong and started to take more long, deep breaths. I started to chat with one of the dental assistants about whatever - cats, my anxiety, marriage. Anything to get my mind off the procedure. After they attached a bunch of suction cups to my chest / stomach and a blood pressure cuff to my arm, she told me she would insert the IV.

The IV was a cinch, it burned for a second and she covered it with a part of the blanket so I wouldn't have to look at it sticking in my arm, although I did catch a glimpse of it when I was signing some documents they gave me and it didn't freak me out too bad. The assistant told me that they couldn't fill the IV tube with the anesthesia medicine until the doctor arrived, he was the only one allowed to do it. This kind of sucked, as most of the posts I've read on this site said that you're out shortly after the IV goes in. Oh well, my luck I guess, so I got to sit around for an extra 10 minutes (seemed like an hour) waiting for the doctor. They attached an oxygen tube to my nose and I immediately began to slug it down with long, deep breaths.

I started to calm down a bit at this point. Some of the things I did that I think will help you remain calm:
1) Look up at all times when they tilt you back in the chair so you can't see any of the tools, IV, etc.
2) Constantly talk to the dental assistants to keep your mind from racing, even if it's about real stupid stuff, just keep talking.
3) Think of the IV as your friend, it's a key player here, it's going to allow you to sleep through the operation, It's on YOUR side, don't be afraid of it.
4) Rub your forehead with your free hand if you start to feel faint or nauseous. Pair this with talking with the dental assistant about random stuff and you'll forget all about feeling sick.
5) Slug the oxygen. It'll help you relax. In through the nose, out through the mouth.
6) Think of what you'll do after the operation that'll make you happy. Will you go fishing that weekend? Play video games all doped up all week? Visit with some friends? Whatever positive thoughts you can conjure up.

By the time the doctor came in I was pretty relaxed thanks to the tricks I've outlined above. He walked over to the IV line and told me he was going to start the anesthesia medicine. I asked where he was from - Wisconsin. I asked if he was a Packers fan - naturally. I told him that I thought the Packers should hold the official title "America's Team", not the Cowboys (sorry big D fans, nothing against the 'boys but let's be real). Lambeau field, fan ownership, Brett Favre, Bart Starr, Vince Lombardi, the Ice Bowl, ACME Packing Corporation, sold out seats for years, the Lambeau Leap!? You get the drift, so did the doctor. He asked if I was a Packers fan, I'm a Browns fan, he said sorry, I said it's all good. I started to feel GOOD. The Doctor started to raise the seat up towards the table with all the tools on it, I had a brief moment of apprehension, and I was OUT.

I woke up what seemed like 10 seconds later and they were wheeling me out to the waiting room. My wife looked at me and started to turn white. She was sitting down and she put her head between her arms. the dental assistants took her to the back and started to treat her for faint! I thought I would be the one to pass out! In her defense there was also a bomb scare while I was being operated on (We were at an Army hospital) and I REALLY stressed her out with my pre-operation anxiety. After my wife had been brought back to life they wheeled me out to our car and we were off.

I've been chilling on my butt taking oxycondone and relaxing for the last 24 hours. I have some soreness in my mouth but no real pain to speak of. I'm looking forward to having the next 6 days off of work (weekend included).

Before the operation I was completely FREAKED out and scared. I can now say that I was acting totally ridiculous :giggle:. I would rather do that again than have a cavity drilled for sure! It was EASY, EASY, EASY! If you're about to do the same thing you must BELIEVE that it will be incredibly EASY and almost pain-free. I don't remember ANYTHING of the actual surgery and have had absolutely NO real pain since the operation. YOU'LL BE FINE, BELIEVE IT, ENJOY THE R & R! Oh yeah, GO BROWNS!
 
Re: wisdom teeth with i/v sedation piece of cake

Enjoyed reading these experiences. It makes me have hope. I so want to have a success story like this.
 
Re: wisdom teeth with i/v sedation piece of cake

Enjoyed reading these experiences. It makes me have hope. I so want to have a success story like this.


Me too, Tabatha.
 
Re: wisdom teeth with i/v sedation piece of cake

I am having my wisdom teeth out next week (on Wednesday) and I am still so scared I even started crying just now trying to write to you. Please tell me what recovery is really like without scaring me. Besides the medicines, what is hard about recovery for you?

Recovery in my opinion is the harder part. If you go the route of IV Sedation, as with the OP saying, it will be a breeze. Let's see, I put of having any dental work done for over 3 years. I would have rather died that get dental work. I am actually writing this sitting on the couch the same day of my surgery, granted it was at 8am this morning and it's now 11pm. I am so glad I had the work done and over with. The dentist removed 3 wisdom teeth, and all 7 of my back molars (Top and bottoms) 10 teeth total. Let's just say, with all those teeth, it took the dentist only 1 hr to get it done. I couldn't not have done it without the IV sedation. It doesn't necesarily put you to sleep as it didn't in my case. However in a lost of people it will. I still remember bits and pieces of the surgery, however I can say you don't really care too much about it. For instance, I remember seeing a bloody gauze, which had a tooth in it...it's gross to me now, but at the time, all I did was look at it, withouth a care in the world, and close my eyes again. With the IV Sedation, I did not even know they had given me the needles for the Anathesia in my gums. I apologize for spelling, I am precribe Hydrocodone and boy does it work.... As for the recovery, you do have to deal with the feelings of having been punched in the face, and be very careful of what you eat. Try to view it as a positive. I know it's gonna hurt during recovery, but in my eyes, it's more or less, instead of going day by day living with the pain possibly getting worse, I have to deal with some odd pains for a few days with the expectation it's getting better each day....
 
Re: wisdom teeth with i/v sedation piece of cake

This success story helped with my anxiety a lot regarding surgery. Thankyou so much. I am not nervous about the IV sedation thanks to you.

Kind regards :jump:
 
Re: wisdom teeth with i/v sedation piece of cake

Anybody who is nervous of the dentist and is having iv sedation I would not worry.. I had the worst pain to the point of me crying on my girlfriend and usually I would avoid going to the dentist but I went in for an emergency appointment and I just about managed to get a temporary filling under a local anesthetic but the dentist said I had to have the one tooth out and referred me to the hospital , I got my referral and the maxi facial surgeon said I needed all 4 wisdom teeth out which was a major shock for me! But she re-assured me the procedure would be absolutely fine, so I left the hospital feeling worried out my skull about having 4 teeth out! Anyway... I got there on the day 2 weeks later early in the morning and I was pretty much straight in after a 10 minute wait.. They put a canular in my arm and explained what teeth they was going to take out. After that they pretty much put a full siringe full of the drug into the canular, i felt pretty queezy (drunk) for a while and then I woke up and it was all done! Couldn't believe that after an hour or so I was completely awake with a numb mouth but I couldn't remember an absolute thing! I went home and crashed out for a couple of hours but was eating lasagne the same night! Baring in mind my wisdom teeth didn't need cutting out!
 
Re: wisdom teeth with i/v sedation piece of cake

Will definately come back to this thread when my surgery is scheaculed. Really enjoy hearing these stories. :') Hoping mine is as good as these.
 
Re: wisdom teeth with i/v sedation piece of cake

Glad your experience went well. I initially never got my wisdom teeth pulled because I was too scared. Dentist said they were impacted, but they all seemed to come in pretty well. Except one broke in half so I had to get it pulled... So i have 3 wisdom teeth left in my mouth lol
 
Back
Top