Bad time at dentist :(

[kenboon]

Hi,

I'v just got back from the dentist :( Been waiting for a while to have my tooth filled. I got there and did'nt feel to bad. Had my injection to be numbed and I started feeling all light headed :(. The result was they said they would not proceed as they really felf I needed sedation as I was so nervous.

I feel like I have let myself down badly :( I'v got a root that where the gum has grown over too that causes alot of issues :( I finally find a NHS dentist and now I'v blow it :( Apprantly I will have to go private to get my treatment done under sedation.

Not sure what to do now :(

[Peter_Scott]

Hi OP,
Sorry to hear of your ordeal, you are not alone. I do know that you can get sedation from a NHS dentist, I have not had it but two others people I know of have. We have a walk in NHS dentist centre and if you phone them and explain they can arrange it. Give another NHS dentist a call and you should be fine,

Peter

[kenboon]

Thanks for the reply.

Your right, the dentist have just rang me back and they are putting in a referal for me to have sedaton on the NHS. They also said that they will not treat me again there as I really looked very ill today :(. So it looks like I will be needing a new dentist :(

I presume they will knock me out? or is it like a laughing gas?

[louise123_uk]

Hi Ken

I have always been hugely phobic of the dentist so can sympathise. I hadnt been since was 16 and am 26 now, and recently found a new dentist and went last sept. Since then I have had a filling , and some surgery on my gum, and am considering getting braces! and believe me I was throwing up before I had to go to the dentist, and was shaking so much I thought was going to faint!

I had a series of awful dentists for sooo long when I was younger, one told me to bloody just sit down and open my mouth when I was scared, one that told me I was stupid for acting the way I did and another just used to laugh at how scared I was. Plus, I had a very traumatic experience having teeth out when I was 8, which was messed up by a very rubbish dentist.

I now have the most patient dentist imaginable, who takes everything I say seriously no matter how mad it all sounds, and books in extra long appointments so he can take the time to listen to me and talk to me before he looks at my teeth or does anything. Plus, I have no idea why all dentists dont use conscious sedation for procedures such as fillings/extractions/surgery for anxious patients, as it really is fab, no side effects of coming round from anasthetic e.g. you can walk out the surgery pretty much 30mins after the procedure and are completely fine, but the same benefit in that you know nothing about the procedure whilst theyre doing it, but your still in control of everything as your awake and can respond to commands. So if your at all scared or feel you wont be able to co-oprate fully and let the dentist do what he/she needs to i cant recommend sedation enough, it really has transformed things for me. I had IV sedation, which is a IV in your hand and then an injection.

My Dad had an awful dentist recently who wouldnt explain things, and was very abrupt, and also managed to mess up what he was told by abnother dentist should have been a routine filling and a routine extraction!
I think what Ive learnt is you get nice dentists/doctors and bad ones who dont take the time and that we should change dentists/doc as soon as we arent happy with something (I had an awful GP who told me he would have given me a slap long ago if I was his daughter and that would have knocked any silly fear out of me!). I didnt realise there were nice ones out there till I found my current dentist (the practice actually specialises in treating people with fears of the dentist), which prompted me to go through the arduous task of changing doctors. It makes going easier now (though still scared), and I cant believe I can now actually walk into a dentists surgery, I wouldnt have believed it possible this time last year!

Conscious sedation is something that is only available privately for adults where I go (Im a private patient anyway) but may not be same at some places, but if you are an NHS patient and did have to pay all this will mean is you have to pay for the conscious sedation on top of the NHS charge. This is however if your dentist is qualified to offer conscious sedation, dentists need a special diploma to eb able to offer this, altho I guess they could bring in an anethetist if your dentist isnt qualified. Im in the North of England and can thoroughly recommend my dentist, but your dentist sounds forward thinking as well to be suggesting sedation. Just contact your dentist and ask if he she can offer sedation at your practice (either your dentist doing it or an anethatist).

Alternatively they may refer you to another practice, my dental clinic takes alot of referrals from other dentists for people who want sedation and other things. If your an NHS patient you would get the treatment for an NHS price from the referral clinic but would have to pay the sedation on top if they dont offer it on NHS. It costs about £80 where I go for IV sedation. You then get to go back to your regular dentist for check ups or anything else they can do without sedation, or you could always change dentists to the one that offers sedation, as from my experience practices that do, tend to have alot better ways of going about treating anxious patients.

[Peter_Scott]

Good Ken, I think you should be fine. If you want any dentist can refer you to your local hospital for work on your teeth under sedation, they are consultant dentists in hospitals, and are often faced with people who find it difficult, so if all else fails ask to be refereed to your local hospital,

Peter

[kenboon]

Louise, thanks so much for such a great post :) I really appreciate that and the time it took you to do so :)

I'm not sure where they are reffering me too Peter. They have just told me the location, I#m not sure if it is a hospital or a private clinic to be honest.

Thanks again for the replies :)