this post was submitted on 10 Oct 2024
90 points (100.0% liked)
Asklemmy
44132 readers
1129 users here now
A loosely moderated place to ask open-ended questions
Search asklemmy ๐
If your post meets the following criteria, it's welcome here!
- Open-ended question
- Not offensive: at this point, we do not have the bandwidth to moderate overtly political discussions. Assume best intent and be excellent to each other.
- Not regarding using or support for Lemmy: context, see the list of support communities and tools for finding communities below
- Not ad nauseam inducing: please make sure it is a question that would be new to most members
- An actual topic of discussion
Looking for support?
Looking for a community?
- Lemmyverse: community search
- sub.rehab: maps old subreddits to fediverse options, marks official as such
- [email protected]: a community for finding communities
~Icon~ ~by~ ~@Double_[email protected]~
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
I used to have really bad dentist anxiety, so my teeth got pretty bad before I finally saw someone. My dentist prescribed some kind of twilight drug before my procedures, so I could still respond to commands, but I'd have no memory of the event. I've had two root canals and the surgeon had me use the same drugs for both procedures. I don't know if that's a viable option, but I don't think I could have done them without.
Otherwise, when you go in for your consult, be honest about your anxiety. If you don't want to hear the details of the procedure, tell them that. They have to inform you of risks, but they don't have to go into detail about the procedure. I brought in headphones, which helped me calm down until the drugs kicked in, though, oddly, I can remember the music I woke up to and not much else. I was so scared in the days leading up to the first procedure, but the pain relief was so great that I'm glad I did it. If nothing else, focus on that.
This is good advice. I had an implant post hole screwed into my jaw a few months ago. During the initial consultation I honestly explained I get anxious and asked about what kind of drugs I could get. The dentist was literally like "oh we usually prescribe what I like to call 'happy pills'" which turned out to be some kind of benzos. I also asked for nitrous. It was a total non-event, I don't remember it at all, and experienced no pain (that I can remember). Also the initial local anesthetic shot you get in the gums is about 50x worse mentally than physically. It hurts way less than when e.g., you bite down hard on a sideways tortilla chip fragment and it gets jammed up into your gums.
So just be honest, ask for meds, and be proud that you're taking care of your health and your anxiety.