I cannot go to the dentist because of a crazy gag reflex. This has really thrown my oral health for a loop and I do not know what to do about it. I have not been able to go to the dentist in over two years. The last dentist I went to threw me out. I was having a hard time with my gag reflex, even with the mirror and had my fists balled to try to will myself to be okay, but they interpreted that as aggression.
Do you know anything that can help me with this? I am absolutely miserable and want to be able to take care of my teeth.
Marie
Dear Marie,
Dental professionals should understand about your gag reflex. You are certainly aren’t the first patient to struggle. Research shows that one in five patients suffer from a gag reflex at the dentist. Granted, yours seems quite severe. Regardless, I am going to suggest that you find a different dentist. The ones you have seen, especially this last one, have neither been compassionate nor professional.
There are some steps you can take that may help or at least limit the gagging you will do.
- Use a topical numbing agent, like hurricane spray. This will need to be dispensed in the mouth. It will numb the tissues and help suppress gagging.
- A dash of table salt placed in your mouth and swallowed helps to prevent gagging.
- A rubber dam used during restorative dental treatment helps water and debris from reaching the back of your throat.
- Dental Sedation. We’ll go into this in more detail in a moment.
How Dental Sedation Can Help?
You have a lot going on and your dental anxiety must be through the roof due to this. Combine that with the fact that you likely have a lot of work that you need to catch up on, then I am going to recommend that you use dental sedation at least for a little while. One type of dental sedation is nitrous oxide. This you breathe in through a nosepiece. It has been dubbed laughing gas because it gives you a relaxed floaty feeling. This can help ease your anxiety and make your appointments much more relaxing.
You can look for a dentist who offers this online by doing a search for a sedation dentist or even a cater to cowards dentist.
This blog is brought to you by Hoffman Estates Dentist Dr. William Becker.