Tori removal - "twilight sleep"

[abricru]

First of all, I do not want to scare anybody that is already scared of the dentist. I just have a question about what happened to me.

My dentist told me I needed to have 5 root tips removed (mostly molars) and also my tori. Everyone on both sides of my family have had the tori, but none of them except one great aunt have had them removed. The great aunt said it was terrible, and don't ever do it. I told the oral surgeon that, and he said they have come a long way since then, and not to worry. He said he had had his tori removed, and it was a "breeze."

I had had one tooth removed there before, but with a different surgeon. I had twilight sleep then, and remember nothing about the surgery. When I "came to" I was sitting in a chair in another room and did not even remember how I got there. That is how I thought this time was going to be.

Instead, this time they gave me the IV, and I kept waiting to be knocked out, but it never happened. I became woozy, and probably drifted in and out, but I definitely remember saying "Ow!" about twenty times, and trying to cover my mouth with my hand. I remember him gruffly telling me to be quiet several times and be still. I remember seeing him with the instruments and feeling a sore-like pain, not too bad, but the whole thing was just a horrible experience, because I was expecting to be asleep, and I was already scared to death. When they walked me from the operating area to the recovery area, I was completely awake, and extremely angry. I think I called the surgeon some nasty names, as well as the nurse. (which is NOT like me at all!) I kept trying to tell them I was awake, but they ignored me and spoke to the friend that was driving me.

My friend said that the surgeon told her he gave me THREE times the normal amount of sedative, and he was not allowed to give me anymore by law. Then he asked if I was a heavy drinker or drug user (which really insulted me). I was so mad I asked to see another doctor for my first follow-up. The second time they tricked me, and I had to see Satan , I mean, the surgeon, again.

I want to know why this happened to me. Do I have any recourse against the surgeon? I have had a ruptured appendix, second degree burns, impacted wisdom teeth removed, many abscessed teeth and other bad health things, but nothing compares to the horror of this. I am on several drugs for depression, anxiety, and diabetes, as well as blood pressure, cholesterol, and thryoid medicines, but I put them all down on the papers I had to fill out. I even asked him if I could take a xanax the morning of the surgery, because I was so scared, and he said no. Why didn't it work like it did the first time? I drink once in a while on the weekends, but I don't consider myself a heavy drinker. And I don't drink any more now, than I did the first time, probably less.

Any ideas on why this happened to me? Now I swear I will never have any oral surgery again. Thanks for any help or advice.

 

[scaredstiff]

Having read your post, I can see that you might feel insulted when he asked if you were a heavy drinker or drug user. Possibly though by drugs he meant any medication and you have said that you take medication for diabetes, depression etc. so though he may not have phrased it too well there might have been a valid reason why you were not sedated enough. However, if you are not happy at all with the treatment you received at his hands I think you should really speak with the dentist to get his thoughts on why things happened the way they did before you think of taking any further action. That doesn't of course excuse any rudeness or lack of respect to you as his client/patient.

 

[letsconnect]

Hi abricru, so sorry to hear you had such a horrible experience .
Something very similar happened to another poster's daughter a while back, and Gordon (one of our "resident dentists") commented that it sounded as if the IV line wasn't properly in the vein. You can find the thread here:

iv sedation horror

my 17 yr old daughter went to a dentist monday, and being rather scared, she was to have the iv sedation, which she was pleased about, we were told she would have no awareness of what she was haveing done, or pain, or remember going there, 30 mins later my husband and i returned to the clinic...

www.dentalfearcentral.org

I think you may be able to find answers to at least some of your questions there

 

[abricru]

Thanks for the replies.

Scaredstiff - when you say speak with the dentist, do you mean the oral surgeon who did it, or my regular dentist?

Letsconnect - thank you for the link. That poor girl... I do have very small veins. I always tell them to use a vein in my hand. I know I did receive *something* from the IV, because I was definitely woozy. I just don't think I got enough.

I have to see him again on Thursday I wish I was as mad at him now as I was the day of the surgery, because now I don't really have the nerve to ask him what the problem was. My friend says I should definitely tell him that I don't appreciate his insinuations about heavy drinking and drug use, but I'll probably just thank him and leave like a big sissy.

 

[freakout]

I had a similar experience last year. I had tori removed with IV sedation, but was pretty aware of things. In my case the vein used was probably a poor choice, because by the end of the procedure, that IV line did not work anymore and they had to start a new one to put some steroids in for swelling.

Tell the dentist who referred you to the oral surgeon of your experience. He will continue to send him patients if he is unaware of the problems you had. I can totally understand not being able to tell the surgeon "off" so to speak. I was the same way, but I was eventually able to tell the dentist just how bad my experience was with the oral surgeon. Now I have to see the oral surgeon again, but this time I refused to go back to the last oral surgeon and will be seeing someone new. I am going to tell him in detail about the problems I had, so this time the procedure will go as planned...at least I hope it will

 

[scaredstiff]

Sorry I wasn't very clear in my post. I actually meant the person who did it, but also if you don't get a reasonable explanation then I think you need to speak to the dentist who referred you to let him know you weren't particuarly happy and see what he has to say. He might, as freakout has said, be totally unaware that any patient he has referred might not be receiving the very best of care and attention and courtesy etc.

 

[Gordon]

Some of the depression/anxiety drugs can mess up IV sedation. It might be worth asking your general dentist for an explanation if you don't want to face the oral surgeon again. Feel free to PM me with a list and I'll check for you if they interfere with IV sedatives.

 

[linlin]

I had IV sedation here in the UK aout 8 days ago - referred to here as "conscious sedation". The blurb describes it as a dream-like state, unique, allows you to fully relax but are sufficiently conscious to cooperate etc etc all that sales talk!

I came round twice, said "ow" a few times. At the end of the session I was told I'd been given twice the usual amount and they were "amazed" I wouldn't stay asleep! Conclusion was I must be a hyper person - certainly no questions about drink/drugs.

MY conclusion must be an insurable limit of sedation allowed in line with their sedation experience!

Next time the man asks you about drink or drugs, ask to see proof of his professional accreditation!

 

[abricru]

OK - here is a small update. It has been a few weeks, and I am still having pain. I couldn't tell if the pain was coming from teeth or the "sores" in my mouth. I went to my dentist. He said they weren't sores, they were places of exposed bone. He said the skin over the tori is very thin. He sent me back to the oral surgeon. (I asked for a different one). He had the same glib attitude and said they looked a lot better than before He said just rinse with salt water until they heal. I'm wondering how long these things take to heal??? They are very uncomfortable, and because of them I still have to eat soft food. I think the pain may be a combination of the sore places that haven't healed and a couple of teeth on the same side. My dentist said he could not work on the teeth, until those places have healed. I am so tired of suffering from this incident. Any advice? Has this happened to any of you?
Thank you!

Update - nearly one year later

About a week after I made this post I had to be in the hospital for ten days. While I was there I kept rubbing the places of exposed bone with my tongue. One day, one of them came out, and it really was a piece of bone a little smaller than a dime. Next day the other one came out the same way.

During the time that has passed I have come to the decision that the problem was just as letsconnect said. I don't think the IV was done right. It has taken me almost a year to go back to the dentist, but I did, and he made the impressions for my partial(s), so I'll have my new teeth soon.

Thanks to all who replied. This is a great place.