Wisdom teeth extraction with IV Sedation Anxieties

[LogansMum]

Hi Everybody

I've never posted on here, but many times have scoured the forums for calming thoughts before check-ups. Now I have to have my wisdom teeth removed (all 4) in a few days and it is giving me horrible anxiety. I do have Generalized Anxiety Disorder, so I'm trying to remember my fears aren't rational, but if you guys could share your calming thoughts that would be amazing.

My main fear is with the IV Sedation, I'm terrified of it affecting my body in a strange way or having some random allergic reaction to it, this is where most of my anxiety is stemming from. Nobody in my family or anybody I know has had that issue, but it is a struggle for me to even take over the counter cold medicines. Its an overwhelming fear. I asked to have it done with only a local anesthetic, but I have TMJ and found out this morning that at 20, I already am developing arthritis in the left side of my jaw. This is why the surgeon feels local anesthetic will not work for me. I would be in quite a bit of pain from being tense, on top of my jaw being open for that long.

After that, I'm afraid of how it will feel. I'm hyper aware of any strange feelings in my body so this concerns me. Then probably last on the list is the recovery. Is it very painful? How long until I will feel normal?

Thank you so much for reading, I really really appreciate it.

 

[Sevena]

Welcome to the forum!

I understand exactly your fear of IV sedation. I too am terrified of "feeling strange" - I won't take codeine because it makes my head a little fuzzy and that is too much for me! But IV sedation might feel strange for the first few seconds, but we're talking about the most powerful sedative you can imagine - you will immediately stop caring. Most people do not remember being under IV sedation - they "wake up" afterwards and it's as though they were napping the whole time. Others remember little snippets, but they are dreamlike. It will relax you very well. Even when you wake up, you may feel groggy, but you won't panic, you'll feel sleepy like your nap was interrupted early. Check this page for first hand accounts: https://www.dentalfearcentral.org/help/sedation-dentistry/iv-sedation/

As for the negative reactions, those are incredibly rare. And even if you were the 0.001% of people, you would be fine. You will be surrounded by professionals who know what they are doing, have done it a million times already, and would know exactly what to do if something *did* go wrong (which it won't). It's super safe. As the page I linked points out: "Purely statistically speaking, it’s even safer than local anaesthetic on its own!"

I promise you'll be just fine.