I need some advice. Dental appointments are a complete nightmare for me. My dentist has never been able to get me numb before. It didn’t matter how many shots he gave me, I would still be in agony. As a result, as you can imagine, I need a lot of work done. Is there any way to help me with this? I’d really love to get control of my dental health. I’m desperate because my mouth is a mess and it is getting embarrassing.
Marie
Dear Marie,
I want to first give you some peace in knowing that there is a solution to what you are going through. I am sorry you have had to endure so many painful appointments. There are quiet a few dentists who do not yet know there is a very real connection between dental anxiety and the ineffecutalness of numbing medication. By that I mean, the higher your dental anxiety, the less likely the numbing medication is to work. That sounds like a terrible inverse, doesn’t it? Here is the good news. There is a fix.
What you need is a dentist who offers dental sedation. This will allow you to have a pain-free/anxiety-free dental appointment. How it works is the medication relaxes you, which in turn keeps your body from metabolizing the numbing medication too quickly. Given the number of painful appointments you have, I am going recommend you find a dentist who offers oral conscious sedation.
This is a stronger medication. It is administered by a pill. However, it is so powerful that you will need to have someone drive you to and fron your appoinment as well as stay with you for a few hours after your appointment. There is an additional benefit to you as well. Using oral conscious sedation will allow you to get more work done at each appointment, giving you the ability to get your oral health care under control faster.
This blog is brought to you by Lexington, KY Dentist Dr. John Weaver.