Can this be?

[clarity83]

Hello everyone,

Just a little bit of background. Around mid May of this year I went in to have dental work done. My wisdom tooth was pretty rotted away and chipped down to size with a hole in the middle. ( sorry for the grossness of this). On top of that I had bridge work done 6 years ago that is now damaged and had to be partially removed ( right next to bad wisdom tooth). Half the bridge was removed with a drill and no drugs involved. My appointment was set for following week for full work but we stopped when we had just started due to a bad reaction to the anaesthesia that was used. It caused my vision to go blurry and distant for 4 minutes. We assumed the dentist simply poked the wrong area. Well ever since this I have not been back to dentist and my wisdom tooth is worse than ever. It feels like gum flesh is rising from the inside and poking out and it is discomfort when I touch it. It is tender and bleeds when mesed around with.

This is my question... On June 23rd ( weeks after dental situation) I had what appears to be an anxiety attack upon falling asleep. I had to catch my breathing and calm myself down. My left arm got prickly and my skin turned pale. It was horrible I felt I would never feel ok again. The following day my eye was bloodshot. The day after my left arm was swollen upon waking. Then I got vertigo. Then it all went downhill from there. I could go on but I won't. My GP told me I had GAD and suggested therapy and meds. Both of which I started. But now I am wondering whether dental problems cause anxiety to develop? I heard that tooth problems cause a plethora of conditons including heart conditions and god knows what else. Im just wondering maybe I do not need Zoloft afterall and just need to get dental hygiene in order?? It got to the point where I have severe anxiety symptoms. ( Maybe life problems contributor) and I cant help but wonder if there is correlation between my attack and needing dental work.

[Speranza]

Firstly, I think people here would say any health issue can set HA off.
Secondly, it is incredibly important not to give up on dental work halfway through. It is true that the gums are a sort of gateway into the bloodstream and therefore better kept as clean as possible. It sounds as though you may have an infection going on which at the very least is going to end up leaving you feeling totally debilitated. I had trouble with a tooth many years ago and I was so glad I had persisted because the reliefe when the pain and nasty smell/taste goes is wonderful!!

[StressedAndDepressed]

I had wisdom teeth that never came through properly and used to get infected regularly. Being terrified of dentists I used to go to the emergency dentist for antibiotics when needed. I used to start to get wound up at any soreness in my mouth.

Last time I did this, the dentist I saw was really good. Gave me the tablets and a chat. Said I should find a regular dentist (emergency guys can only fix the emergency) and tell them what they could do with me. That was easy enough, I could only deal with a mirror in my mouth.

The regular dentist I saw did exactly what the emergency guy said he'd do. I was referred to an NHS dentist unit that cared for nervous patients only.

They can sedate or knock u out completely. I was given a general anaesthetic for the wisdom teeth removal and sedation for fillings. I remember nothing about the fillings and am now without the wisdom teeth.

It might be worth having a chat with a dentist? I sufferered for years before I did. I wish I'd done it a lot sooner.

[clarity83]

Thank you both for your replies! Speranza, I too have had dental issues that were so bad I got fixed right away. This one however is painless and it keeps me from doing anything about it. I will definitely get this fixed asap as I am starting to feel a correalation between it and my sudden anxiety.

StressedAndDepressed, good point and I may consider it. What I wondered though was what came first the chicken or the egg sort of thing. Did my dental problem trigger the anxiety...or was the anxiety to come regardless of dental dilemma. I have to go back to GP as soon as I go home.

[Speranza]

Tackle the one which is easier to tackle - that's all any of us can do! Good luck with it, let us know how you go, please! :)