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Suggested alternative remedies for your visit to the dentist

S

SandySea

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 9, 2010
Messages
191
Location
Australia
Hi, just thought I would like to share a few things that helped me immensely when I had all my lower teeth removed 4 weeks ago.
As a trained naturopath (I no longer practice but did for many years) I have always preferred alternative remedies, so a few weeks before surgery I began my routine.

I took vitamin c in powder form twice day. You can also eat lots of food with vitamin c, such as oranges or orange juice, broccoli, tomato, papaya, kiwi fruit. The gums need vitamin c to make them strong (many years ago when I had all my upper teeth out, my dentist refused to extract them and sent me home to drink 4 or 5 glasses or orange juice a day. It took 2 weeks before he saw an improvement and was willing to go ahead!) Note: vitamin c is not stored in the body and any we do get is depleted by cigarette smoke, pollution, stress and many cooking and storage methods. It tends to remain in the body for no more than 3 or 4 hours and is then lost in urine, so what it hasn't done within that time, it doesn't get a chance to do!

I also took 2 B complex tablets - 1 with breakfast and 1 with my evening meal. The body doesn't store vitamin B either, it only remains inthe body for about 8 hours. Without it, we tend to get stressed, suffer insomnia, and muscles cramp up. I ensured my b complex also contained magnesium as this helps both the absorption of the b vitamins, and the stress - which we all feel leading up to the big day.

For 2 days before surgery, I took homeopathic arnica pillules (tablets that dissolve under the tongue) 3 times a day. Arnica is used for injury, aches and sprains, trauma, and is especially good to avoid bruising. I also bought an arnica spray, as I doubted I would want something dissolving under my tongue after surgery and wanted to keep getting it into me for a few days afterwards.

On the day of surgery, the first thing I reached for was my Rescue Remedy. For those who don't know about this little gem, it is a combination of Bach flower remedies that you simply squirt (or drop) under your tongue, and it's simply amazing! It's for trauma and fear, and is a fast-acting calmative. You can take it as often as you want - it will do you no harm, and frankly I never go anywhere without it. I was delighted to also find that it is now also produced as a lip balm, and since I doubted the surgeon would be very impressed if I suddenly shouted "hold everything, I need to take some rescue remedy!" I took it along to put on my lips before going into the theatre.

I took Olive Leaf in a spray, because it's an excellent antibacterial, and while I'd been taking colloidal silver for a week, I still wanted to be certain I killed any bacteria that might be in my mouth following surgery - with open wounds in the mouth, you can't be too careful, and a spray is ideal for post-surgery.

Well, I came through the surgery without ANY pain, without ANY bruising, and without ANY infection. If it hadn't been for the anaesthetic after-effects (just a bit wobbly) I felt like I could have cleaned the house, tackled the garden and then had a night on the town! (But I did none of them, I went to bed and slept like a baby for 12 hours!)

For a week after surgery, I did as instructed and rinsed my mouth with warm salt water every 2 hours, but I also added a few extras to the salt water. I sprayed some Olive Leaf into it, added a few drops of tea tree oil (also excellent for disenfecting) and believe it or not, I included a capful of Scotch Whiskey! Now, this isn't a naturopathic remedy, lol, but it's what dentists used in the 1800's to numb and disinfect the gums prior to extraction. I'd heard that if you do get any pain after extraction, soak a cotton ball in a bowl of scotch whiskey and drip it on the extraction site and it will numb AND disenfest the area. The day after surgery I did get a slight ache where a very large wisdom tooth with a long root had been extracted, so I tried it. It worked instantly! That was the one and only pain I had - all 30 seconds of it.

By the way, my 2 hourly rinse tasted delicious, lol!

If I sound like a hypochondriac, lol - I'm not. But like most of you, I AM a dental-phobic and it took me over a year to work up the courage to get the extractions. I may have gone a bit "overboard", but I wasn't taking any chances - I wanted to be sure I came through it with as little suffering as possible. And I DID!

The surgeon had previously warned me that I'd be "out of action" for at least 2 weeks, and that I'd probably have bruising and pain. He prescribed 2 very strong painkillers and instructed me to take them 3 times a day. I took NO painkillers, I was back to my normal routine the day AFTER surgery, and when I returned for my surgeon's check up 2 weeks later he was very impressed at how well my gums had healed. He asked me about the pain and bruising and was amazed to hear that I'd experienced only a brief ache at the wisdom tooth site. Of course, I didn't tell him about the Scotch Whiskey, wink.

The other technique I used was astrology - but I'll do another post for that because it might get a bit long. (Longer than this?? Impossible, lol!)

I hope at least some of this helps someone else. All the things I've mentioned (except the whiskey) are available at health food shops, and many pharmacies also sell rescue remedy, vitamins and homeopathic remedies. If you have any questions, please just ask.

Good luck. :)
 
Great information! I go the natural way as much as I can. How often did you take the Bach's flower before having the dental procedures done?
 
Hi Mistykate :)
I only took rescue remedy every half an hour on the day of surgery, and then used the lip balm as they were wheeling me to the theatre. I then used rescue remedy on the way home, when I got home, and before I went to sleep, and rubbed more balm on my lips to work while I slept. Surgery causes a trauma to the body no matter how big or small it is, as does anaesthetic, so the rescue remedy not only helped to calm me leading up to it, but also helped get over that trauma.

However, there are some other excellent flower remedies that deal with fear. Mimulus is probably the best - it's for a fear that has a clear and identifiable cause - in this case, obviously dental visits - or cherry plum when the fear is so strong we're afraid of losing control. White Chestnut is for when the fears (or other worries) just keep going around and around in the mind and we can't sleep or function properly, and Agrimony is good for those who are secretly terrified but won't reveal their fears to anyone and pretend everything is just fine.

In any of these cases, I'd be inclined to take them 4 or 5 times a day (a few drops under the tongue) for at least 2or 3 weeks leading up to the dental visit. Bear in mind, though, that even flower essences can create a healing crisis, and that means the problem often gets worse BEFORE it gets better - that's when you have to make sure you stick with them - some people think they're just making things worse and stop then and there, worst thing you can do. I always liken it to the fact that you can't clean out your closets until you open the closet and take a look, and flower essences open that damn closet, aaaarrrrgggghhh:scared:
 
Thanks for your reply SandySea. I am still trying to work up the courage to go to the dentist. Do you suggest I try some of the other flower remedies now? I don't want to have a crisis when I go! LOL
 
Hi Mistykate,
Absolutely, flower essences will help give you the courage you need, they are truly little wonders. You might even consider seeing a naturopath or homeopath as they'll be able to make them up for you. I'm not sure how much you know about flower essences, but you don't take them directly from the bottle you buy, you need to dilute them first - pure water, a few drops of the essence, some brandy to preserve them, into an amber dropper bottle, and shaken, then dropped under the tongue with a clean mouth at least half an hour before or after food or toothbrushing.

You can take whichever ones you relate to, but it's recommended to combine no more than 5 in one bottle, and they wont cause any harm so you can take them for as long as you need to. The worst they'll do (apart from the healing crisis which usually only lasts a day or two) is nothing if they're not the right ones for you.

But Mistykate, you can do it! I did it - I postponed my extractions for a year but finally had no choice and dreaded the day! But today is the day you worried about yesterday - and nothing is as bad as it seems when we worry about it. I nearly ran screaming from the hospital, but gritted my teeth, had another shot of Rescue Remedy, and got wheeled into the theatre, then opened my eyes and wondered why my Other Half was in the theatre with me - I was actually back in recovery and it was like I had blinked. No pain, no bleeding, no bruising (and I had 9 teeth removed) and actually dressed myself (IN the right order, I hastily add, no legs into jumper sleeves!) and walked to the car just like a normal person! Slept like a baby, got up next day and did normal-person things, and wondered what on earth a whole year of worry had been for.

Arnica is also a godsend as far as bruising and post-operative trauma, and if you see a naturopath or homeopath you can get a strong arnica made up for you that will ensure you'll come through it smiling!

Take that first step Mistykate, truly you won't be sorry. And please let me know how you get on. :XXLhug: to you.
 
Thanks Sandy, I have used some herbal caplets, chammomile, and a combo of valerian with some other stuff that I think would work as well. I am really trying to get up the courage to go. I have a LOT of problems. My husband had a dental emergency a few months ago, and he asked me to find him a dentist, so I found one, and even tho he had to go to the oral surgeon for extractions, he liked the original dentist I found. He is starting his treatment plan on Monday, and since I am unemployed right now, I am going to go with him. I emailed them today and asked if I could meet the dentist while I was there. After that we will see.
 
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