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Rubber dam and stuffy nose

K

Kings20

Member
Joined
Dec 12, 2008
Messages
72
Im getting a root canal done tmrw. I always have a stuffy nose in atleast one nostril, so with a rubber dam in will I still be able to breath through my mouth? Also I sometimes have trouble keeping my mouth open for a long time and I know root canals can take hours so what should I do about that?
 
Hi there. I have exactly the same problem, stuffy nose, especially one side.
Last few months I have had 3 r/c's done, Ihad no problem at all breathing through the rubber dam, it doesn't fit close to your mouth, it fits between the teeth either side of the one being worked on, then sort of hangs loose, bit like a tablecloth.
Also, I just closed my eyes & listened to the radio, never felt any pain, you will be fine
Leggy:cheers:
 
Hope I'm not too late to help! Though how much help I'll be I don't know...

Just a little factoid for you... It isn't often you will breathe through both nostrils anyway, usually one side is clearer than the other. The side changes every few hours too! Funny thing the human body...

Anyway, my point is that most people go for treatment with only one open airway, so I don't think you need to worry too much :XXLhug:
 
So I never had a rubber dam and as always a little fearful of the unknown, somebody walk me through what it's like, is it uncomfortable, suffocating? I have a redo root canal Saturday- think I'm about to find out.
 
Hi, I did not find it suffocating at all, it is a bit fiddly for the dentist, she has to slide it between teeth either side, bit like sliding floss between the teeth, but it has to hold in there while r/c is done.If you have a nice dentist like mine she/he will be talking to you & distracting you while it is done, but once on, it did not feel stifling at all, it is just like putting a dust sheet down , before decorating, it is only there to collect any debris,& protect your other teeth. I sometimes suffer with anxiety & breathing but it honestly did not restrict my breathing at all.:)
Leggy.
 
Thanks, leggy.

Did you have the local anesthetic before the rubber dam was put on?
 
Hi RP, I have been trying to remember the answer to this & i can't , so obviously,whichever way, it did not matter to me!!
Sorry for being vague, i think i must have, or the dentist would have had to go under the dam to do the injection, which i don't think she did.It certainly did not hurt,or bother me in any way so i am sure you will be fine. The main thing is,it was not at all claustrophobic, if that is what worries you.
Good luck.
 
Hi Kings 20, forgot to mention keeping mouth open, that bothers me too.Although it took about 40 mins for my r/c,during that time there are little pauses while dentist did different things, swapping tools or something, i got used to the rythm of what she was doing next, it kind of enabled me to swallow & relax my jaw, so not as bad as i thought, i also found it helpful to try & think about something else, like what i had to do after leaving the surgery, made the time go quicker. I have heard such horror stories about r/c's, but it honestly was not too bad, i certainly felt no pain, got out of the chair thinking " wow " was that it!!:cheers:
 
The rubber dam is very helpful for my root canals. I have a problem where I gag really easily especially if my mouth gets dry/they keep the suction in there for too long. The dam pretty much isolated the problem teeth where they could do whatever they wanted to them and the entire rest of my mouth got left alone. It was very nice and I kind of forgot it was there. It wasn't constricting at all for me. What they do is punch a hole in the rubber sheet and basically push that tooth through the rubber. Then they take some sort of frame thing that stretches out the rubber so that it's not flopping around near your nose and mouth, which would be dangerous. I'm sure when you look at someone with a rubber dam it looks like it's obstructing something but really it's not at all. :)
 
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thanks for the replies everyone I am going to my app. in ab hour and a half so the replies helped.
 
Just got back from the root canal, it went ok. I have a lot of pain right now and im still bleeding a little where the put the temp crown. The worst part was the time it took to do.
 
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