• 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.

Root canal with IV SEDATION. HELP.

M

major91

Junior member
Joined
Jun 4, 2018
Messages
3
Hi there, i would love some advice and by advice i mean please help my worrying.
I was informed i needed a root canal about two months ago, reluctantly made the appointment for the procedure a week following diagnosis. I wasn't too afraid. Upon receiving the root canal, I wasn't going numb which typically is not an issue for me. ( once as a child but i questioned how reputable the dentist was )
i told my dentist that i was not numb and she said she tripled the freezing so i should be. But as soon as she hit my nerve i felt EVERYTHING. i jumped up in pain- tears streaming. she quickly put in a temporary filling and said it was a 'hot tooth' please note that i have a heart condition and need pre med, so now my mouth was exposed to this infection. She perscribed me antibiotics, sent me on my way and said to come back a week later. I left so afraid and crying, how can i go back? but it obviously needs to be done.
I decided to switch dentists so i could do IV sedation, and this dentist offered teeth whitening for free.
I made the appointment, for a week following this and my dentist had an emergency and has rescheduled it for two weeks from now.
I AM TERRIFIED. It has been over a month now since the first incident and i have been building it up in my head so much. has anyone had IV sedation? experiences? how about a root canal on a tooth that had been treated with antibiotics? does it really hurt?
this dread is killing me, i'm losing sleep. :scared:
 
Hi major91,

Welcome to the forum! Thanks for posting your worries - sounds like you've had a right go of it with your tooth, and I'm sorry about that. These things are always worse when they take longer than usual to do - quick and painless is the best way with tooth things, but when something goes wrong and you need more than one appointment, like in your case, that can cause so much anxiety and dread. I know how you feel and where you're coming from!

I had IV sedation for a wisdom tooth extraction.

I had mine done in a hospital and could remember literally nothing of the procedure. It was great. What is it about sedation that freaks you out? I was SO TERRIFIED before having mine but once you've done it once it's not a big deal. Remember as well it's just one day of your life - the only time you will have to directly deal with it is on the day - so enjoy your life before then.

Bear hugs,

HM

:bear::bear:
 
Thanks for the reply! I don’t know why I’m so afraid of it, maybe I guess not feeling in control when they put the drugs in or how I’ll feel, or what if I’m in pain during Becuase I’m still not froze right! I know I won’t remember it but still don’t want to be in pain like I was
 
Hi Major91
If the infection has been cleared up by the antibiotics, it should go numb in the usual way so maybe you could try without sedation and only resort to it, if getting numb is still an issue?
https://www.dentalfearcentral.org/fears/not-numb/

It's just as well you changed dentist though as she really shouldn't have drilled into your tooth at all since you had already clearly told her it didn't feel numb!
Best wishes :hug:
 
Major91.

It is really hard when you have all that time between and you have to wait to get things taken care of and the anxiety get built more and more. I hate wait time! ugh. more time to psyhc yourself out... but good thing you are on here to be encouraged.

I agree with Britt in that it is harder to get numb when you are infected.. there were a few times I've had teeth pulled where I had infections and it hurt more but usually it doesn't if its not infected. If you haven't had issues before with local you probably won't again if you find a good dentist and your teeth aren't infected. Find one where they will honor the stop sign and be sensitive to your pain. With the right local my root canals have never hurt.. make sure they give you enough and are generous with it.

I hope this new office is good to you, listens and does what is right to make you comfortable and at ease!! I also hope you can get some rest. its hard to rest when you are anxious.
 
Thanks for the reply! I don’t know why I’m so afraid of it, maybe I guess not feeling in control when they put the drugs in or how I’ll feel, or what if I’m in pain during Becuase I’m still not froze right! I know I won’t remember it but still don’t want to be in pain like I was

OMG innit that was one of my biggest worries, losing control. But I didn't. I don't think you do really, you just get relaxed and maybe a bit confused and that's it. You only say loopy stuff with GA, apparently. You won't be in pain as well, as they give you LA after the IV so it's all nice and numb! You got this, man.
 
Thanks for the reply! I don’t know why I’m so afraid of it, maybe I guess not feeling in control when they put the drugs in or how I’ll feel, or what if I’m in pain during Becuase I’m still not froze right! I know I won’t remember it but still don’t want to be in pain like I was

Hi there! I had the exact same issue as you do, I wouldn't freeze up even with a lot of local being used. I decided to opt for dental sedation to get around the problem and I too was absolutely terrified of losing control and trusting my dentist. But honestly-it went so well! I had the IV put in, I felt more relaxed than I have done in years, and I pretty much went to sleep and then woke up gently and had had no pain. The local worked just fine. I was able to walk to my car and I went home and had a nap and was eating and watching tv later on that day. I did feel still a bit out if it for the next few days, but that's probably because I don't take any meds at all from one end if the year to the next. Honestly, don't waste your life worrying about it, it's almost an enjoyable experience ?
 
Back
Top