Taking Valium before having teeth extracted

[BlueDolphin308]

Hi:

I am having 5 teeth pulled next week. On Wednesday I am having 3 pulled, and Thursday having the two remaining pulled. My wisdom teeth plus the two molars beside them on the bottom. My dentist is aware that I have Valium. I told him that I normally take 5 mgs of Valium. I am going to be using the nitrous oxide as well. I am so nervous about this that I don't feel like 5mgs of Valium is going to be enough. So I called the doctor who prescribed the Valium and asked if I could take 10mgs of Valium. He said he had no problem with that.

However I don't want to tell my dentist that I am taking 10mgs because I am scared he is going to say that he has to lower the Nitrous oxide.

I am a female 5'5 and I way roughly about 160 pounds. Is it safe for me to take 10mgs of Valium before my visit? Or is that going to make me tooo sedated??

 

[BlueDolphin308]

Let me add that I have taken 10 mgs of Valium before with no ill side effects and I was able to function normally. I have a high med tolerance so have to take higher dosages at times. My only concern is mixing 10mgs of Valium with the Nitrous oxide, I am not sure whether that will be too sedating. I don't have experience with mixing meds with nitrous.

Thanks!

 

[Angiemc00]

Hi, you should opt for the dentist to sedate you its much safer & at least it will be over with & your no nothing .

 

[vicki]

I've been taking Diazepam (Valium) for dental appointments recently since I've been having root canal treatment on four teeth. I normally take beta blockers (to reduce the adrenaline rush !) for ordinary dental appointments, however root canal treatment is a step too far for me and so I've been taking Valium. I normally take 5mg about an hour before going to bed the night before the appointment and then 10mg about 90 minutes before the appointment. Because I get really stressed out, I usually have such a huge adrenaline surge that it stops the Valium working, so in my case, I also take the beta blockers as well to allow the Valium to work.

Valium seems to affect different people in different ways and it depends on all sorts of things such as dose and timing. Like you, I can still function after taking 10mg, although if I've also taken the beta blockers, then it does tend to make me really dizzy for a while.

I've never had nitrous oxide, so I'm afraid I can't answer your question really. However, I do know that the dose is gradually adjusted ( or 'titrated' in technical speak!) until you feel calm enough. This is because, like Valium (and other benzodiazepines), different concentrations of nitrous oxide affect people differently. I'm not sure whether you are able to take the Valium as well, however I'm sure your dentist would be happy to tell you if you called them just to make sure. I would think that, if anything, all it would mean is that you'd maybe need a slightly lower concentration of nitrous oxide in the oxygen, since you'd already be relaxed from taking the Valium. However, I don't know for sure, so the best thing would be to ask your dentist .

I don't know whether you've seen it, but we have a page with information about inhalation sedation (nitrous oxide) here:

https://www.dentalfearcentral.org/help/sedation-dentistry/laughing-gas/

 

[scareddiane]

Your pharmacist can answer your question.

 

[aussieDA]

It is not good practice to administer Nitrous to a patient who has taken an oral sedative. Your dentist needs to be aware of what is in your system. I hate to bring it up, but what happening if things did go wrong? Dentists a health "care" professionals, despite your fear or distaste for the profession these people often go above and beyond to accommodate phobic or fearfully patients. Just be honest, if you need to go for a GA because the thought of only Valium or only Nitrous is too much for you then so be it. You're not the first person and you're certainly not the last whose had to do this. Good luck, and congratulations on taking the first step at least getting the diagnosis so that Dentist is able to help you and to make a plan to get you back to good oral health.

 

[BlueDolphin308]

It is not good practice to administer Nitrous to a patient who has taken an oral sedative. Your dentist needs to be aware of what is in your system. I hate to bring it up, but what happening if things did go wrong? Dentists a health "care" professionals, despite your fear or distaste for the profession these people often go above and beyond to accommodate phobic or fearfully patients. Just be honest, if you need to go for a GA because the thought of only Valium or only Nitrous is too much for you then so be it. You're not the first person and you're certainly not the last whose had to do this. Good luck, and congratulations on taking the first step at least getting the diagnosis so that Dentist is able to help you and to make a plan to get you back to good oral health.

My dentist is aware of me taking 5 mgs of valium plus him giving me the nitrous. And he is ok with that. I am not hiding the fact that I am taking Valium. Its just the dosage. I talked to my prescribing doctor who said it was ok for me to take the 10 mgs on top of the nitrous. I just don't want to feel any pain when he pulls the first three teeth, and then the next day when he pulls the next two teeth.

 

[vicki]

My dentist is aware of me taking 5 mgs of valium plus him giving me the nitrous. And he is ok with that. I am not hiding the fact that I am taking Valium. Its just the dosage. I talked to my prescribing doctor who said it was ok for me to take the 10 mgs on top of the nitrous. I just don't want to feel any pain when he pulls the first three teeth, and then the next day when he pulls the next two teeth.

If your dentist is already aware of you taking 5mg Valium and he's OK with that, then the best thing to do, is give him a call and just ask, since he's the one who will be treating you . He's also more able to give you the correct advice since he's the one who's experienced in giving patients Nitrous Oxide. I'm sure he won't mind; from his point of view, he wants you to be calm and relaxed during treatment as it makes his job (and your experience) a lot better than if you are stressed out and worried, so I'm sure he won't mind if you just give him a quick call just to clarify whether it would be OK to take 10mg instead of 5mg.

If your main worry is feeling pain when the teeth are removed, try not to worry - that's what local anaesthetic is for. Once the injections have taken effect, you shouldn't feel any pain at all. If for any reason, things aren't numb, then you just let your dentist know and he can give you more local anaesthetic... It's not a problem. Sometimes people report feeling a little bit of pushing and pulling, but it's not pain (because things are numb), it's just an altered sensation. Some people feel nothing at all and aren't even aware that the tooth has been removed because it's a lot quicker than they thought it would be.