root canals tomorrow and terrified.

[jennsnoopy]

Hello. I need some support i guess.

I am new here and terrified. I have 3 root canal and crowns tomorrow. Like many of you I have had bad experiences with dentist in my life. I hadn't been to the dentist since having my wisdom teeth out when I was 18. They sedated me then (with IV) but even then while I was "out" (I dont remember this) I apparently ripped the novicane shot out of the dentist hand leaving me with a gash accross my left cheek. Recovering from those extractions took weeks and left me with not going to the dentist for 20 years.

My husband found a dentist who specializes in sedation dentistry. I went for my first appt in 20 years 3 weeks ago (my back teeth were killing me at this point-I had to go). It was very hard because even the smell of the dentist office makes me very nervous and emotional.

The appt went well except I have to get 3 root canals and crowns on the upper right side. THe dentist is going to do it all at once while I am under sedation tomorrow. They gave me 2 pills (Halcion I think they are called) and 2 valiuum (1 for tonight and 1 for tomorrow). Supposidly this is suppose to help and they say I wont know what is going on. I dont believe anyone but what choice do I have? I am in pain. I know I need to do this but I am very scared. Root canals?! OMG just the thought of the drill sound and the smell. I am very scared. What if I rip the drill out of his hand, or my tooth start spouting blood?!


Does anyone have any experience with this? Please tell me it will be ok? Will I be aware of everything because if i am, I know I will go crazy.

The other reason I am doing this is because my dad was very afraid of dentist and ended up having to have dentures b/c he never took care of his teeth. My daughter did great at her first dental appt next month and I do not want her to grow up with a mom that is afraid of the dentist.

Thank you for any help or advice. sorry about the text size thing. Not sure why it did that.

 

[vict4ia]

Welcome! I'm afraid that I can't give you first-hand experience with sedation or root canals. I can tell you that many, many others here have had experiences with both and have said that there's really not much to it. I can definitely vouch for the fact that there isn't much to having the crowns done. Here's something that may help. Root canals get a really bad rap. Millions of people have root canals every day and they are so mundane and normal that we never hear anything about them. The only time that people talk about them is in the rare case where something goes wrong. Unfortunately, those are the stories that we pay attention to. We never seem to remember the times when somebody tells us, "Yeah, I had a root canal today and there wasn't much to it." However, the vast majority of people who have root canals have the boring, ho-hum, unmemorable experience. You'll be fine tomorrow. I also want to say thanks, on behalf of your daughter. You're doing a very good and brave thing for her. May she never have a need for this website. Yay you!

 

[FinnishGirl]

And with that medication, you won't rip the drill or anything. I'm sure about that. You won't care less about what's going on, if you are awake at all.