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Low Pain Tolerance and Dental Care

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I am worried that if I don’t find a way to get to the dentist regularly, I’m going to end up like my grandmother did with nothing but dentures for teeth. The problem I have is that I’m a complete wuss. I have zero pain tolerance. If there is one thing I have learned, it is that pain and the dentist go together. Is there something that can help me get to my appointments without feeling like I’m about to be put through the Spanish Inquisition?

Esteban

Dear Esteban,

An image of a woman with a nitrous oxide nose piece.

You show a lot of bravery in your willingness to try to get to the dentist despite the painful experiences you’ve had.  Just because you have a low pain tolerance, does not make you a wuss, and don’t let anyone tell you differently. In fact, there are studies that have shown the way we perceive pain, as well as our ability to tolerate it is genetic. Red heads are a prime example of that. Some time when you feel like surfing the net do a search on red heads and pain tolerance.

One thing I would do is see a dentist who offers some form of dental sedation. They are usually more compassionate dentists and better with people who suffer from dental anxiety. I would start with nitrous oxide. It will lower the effect of pain on you while still allowing you to communicate with your dentist as well as get on with your day immediately following your procedure.

It is great that you are trying to get the oral care you need. It is people who do not step up, the way you are, that end up with dental emergencies. When that happens, the appointment is often more stressful because there is not time to find a sedation dentist, plus, what could have been solved with a simple procedure had you gone in early, becomes something much more invasive which increases the risk of pain involved. They are also the ones who end up with a mouth full of dentures or expensive tooth replacements. Your courage to see a dentist will avoid all of that. Plus, as your oral health gets better you have less and less chance of any pain at the dentist.

This blog is brought to you by Hoffman Estates Dentist Dr. William Becker.

Can’t Go to Dentist Because of Gagging Reflex

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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,

woman with nitrous oxide

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.

Marijuana for Dental Anxiety?

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I have pretty severe dental anxiety. My sister told me she went to see someone called a cater to cowards dentist and it really helped her. I have no idea what that is or how they help. One thing I do know is that marijuana really helps me relax. Would a dentist be okay with that or even prescribe it?

Dave

Dear Dave,

boy cowering behind chair

There is a solution to dental anxiety

Dental anxiety is quite common and it doesn’t make you a coward. As for marijuana, that varies from state to state. Some states allow both doctors and dentists to prescribe it. Some states allow doctors but not dentists and some don’t allow prescription marijuana at all.

There are other solutions if this isn’t an option for you, which brings us back to that Cater to Cowards dentist your sister mentioned. These are dentists which care about making patients with anxiety comfortable in the dental chair.

How Dentists Help Anxious Patients

  • Compassion

These dentists understand your fear. They will work with you to help you feel comfortable. They don’t judge you for being nervous. They won’t even judge the amount of work you may need because you’ve been avoiding the dentist. No lectures.

  • Anesthetic

There are local anesthetics a dentist can give a patient to make sure you are numb before any work is done.

  • Sedation Dental Care

Some patients with extreme anxiety have trouble getting numb. This is because their anxiety raises their metabolism which wears off the numbing medication. There is a solution to this. Your dentist can give you some nitrous oxide before your procedure. This is sometimes called laughing gas, not because it makes you laugh, but because it makes you feel floaty and completely relaxed.

Patients who were unable to get numb in the past find this simple medication, administered by breathing through a nose piece, makes all the difference in the world. This may be just what you need.

This blog is brought to you by Hoffman Estates Dentist Dr. William Becker.

Irrational Fear of Needles Solved

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I have had the hardest time getting dental care for myself and my daughter. I have a horribly irrational fear of needles of any kind. The last time I was hospitalized they actually had to knock me out to treat me. It was humiliating. I was behaving like a petulant child and I knew it but my fear was too strong. Unfortunately, my daughter inherited the same trait. I need to find a solution to this because she has a cavity that needs to be filled and when we tried to do it, she slapped the dentist and ran away. I know exactly how she’s feeling but have no way of helping her. What do I do?

A Desperate Mom

Dear Desperate Mom,

boy cowering behind chair

There is a solution to dental anxiety

It is hard when our children inherit traits from us which we wish didn’t exist, especially when we see them having a negative impact on our children. Fortunately, I have some good news for both you and your daughter.

What both of you need is to find a dentist used to dealing with this type of anxiety. Doing an internet search under two different terms should help you locate the dentist who has the tools to help you. The first is a “cater to cowards dentist“. The second is a “sedation dentist“. Both of them should offer some form of sedation.

I’d say in the case of you and your daughter, you want someone who has two levels available.

Two Types of Dental Sedation

Level One: Nitrous Oxide

This is the simplest level of sedation. Your dentist will place a nosepiece on your daughter and allow her to breathe in the nitrous oxide gas. The gas will make her feel floaty and relaxed, allowing her to get the local anesthetic she needs. Most children actually fall asleep during their procedure. Once her cavity is filled and ready to go, the dentist will switch the gas to oxygen and she’ll be back to her old self and ready to go.

An additional benefit to this is if she is asleep it becomes much easier for the dentist to give her a mercury-free composite filling. Those are a little harder to place on children because for it to bond properly the composite has to be kept completely dry during placement.

Level Two: Oral Conscious Sedation

This is a much stronger level of sedation. You will take a pill prior to your appointment. This pill is strong. You will be unable to drive yourself to or from your dental appointment. You’ll also need someone to stay with you after your appointment until you are lucid and steady on your feet.

This level also has an additional benefit. You will be so relaxed (and will probably nap) that your dentist can get a lot more work done at each appointment. This makes it faster for patients who’ve avoided the dentist for a while to get caught up on all their needed work in a stress-free and pain-free way.

Dental Anxiety and Children

Not all dentists who treat children use sedation. If you have trouble finding one, my suggestion for you will be to look for a general dentist who treats children. They don’t necessarily have to go to a pediatric specialist. Every general dentist did a pediatric rotation and is qualified to treat children. Just make sure they enjoy children and are good working with them first.

This blog is brought to you by Hoffman Estates dentist Dr. William Becker.

Finding a Patient Dentist

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I’ve always had a great dentist who understood I had a hard time feeling comfortable in the dental chair. He was patient and explained what he was going to do ahead of time and even stopped to give me a minute if I needed it. Sadly, he retired. Now I’m stuck with this dentist who treats his patients like they’re on a conveyor belt. I’m quite discouraged and not sure I can go back. Is there a way to find a patient dentist again or did I have a rare gem?

Missy

Dear Missy,

woman giving a thumbs up in the dental chair
There are dentists who cater to anxious patients

While your old dentist may have been a rare gem, there are more gems out there. It’s just a matter of knowing where to look. What I don’t want you to do is put off dental care because of this experience.

What usually ends up happening with anxious patients who run into an insensitive dentist is they put off their dental care until it can’t be ignored because they’re in pain with a dental emergency. I don’t want that to happen to you.

Finding a Dentist Who Cares

The first thing I would do is a search under three terms:

Almost all dentists who advertise using these terms enjoy working with fearful patients, usually with the long term goal of helping them overcome their fear through a series of positive experiences in the dental chair.

Trust but Verify

While I’d love to say if a dentist tells you they’re good with anxious patients, they probably are, it is always best to check.

One way to do that is to look at their reviews. Sites such as Google and Yelp! often have a series of patient reviews. It’s helpful to read what patients who’ve actually been to their office have experienced, both good and bad.

I hope this helps.

This blog is brought to you by Hoffman Estates Dentist Dr. William Becker.

Xanax for Dental Appointments

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I’m really not a good dental patient. In fact, I’ve been avoiding going for a while now, which is why I’m currently in tremendous pain. I know I need to be seen. I’m sure something is very wrong. But, just the idea of going in makes me tear up and hyperventilate. I have general anxiety anyway, which is why my doctor prescribes me Xanax. Do you think it would be okay if I took one before my dental appointment? I think it would help.

Lydia

Dear Lydia,

boy cowering behind chair

There is a solution to dental anxiety

You are definitely not alone in your fear of the dentist. Many people struggle with that. Like you, they also avoid the dentist, scheduling appointments on a dental emergency basis only. Sadly, that perpetuates the problem because their only experiences in the dental chair are negative ones.

While some dentists would let you take a Xanax before your appointment, they would definitely need to know well in advance so they can arrange to only use medication that won’t interfere with yours. However, I’m going to offer a better solution. One, that should help you turn your oral health around and see the dentist regularly again.

Dentists Who Cater to Anxious Patients

There are compassionate dentists who will cater to anxious patients. Many of them use some type of dental sedation for their high anxiety patients. A mild form of sedation would be nitrous oxide. It is sometimes known under its nickname of laughing gas. You may have seen the episode of “Call the Midwife” when the ladies in labor were first introduced to it.

However, we’ve discovered for those with a strong anxiety, such as you’ve described, nitrous isn’t enough. That’s why we also offer Oral Conscious Sedation. You will still be conscious and can respond to what’s going on around you, but will be absolutely and completely relaxed. You will feel great.

This gives you a stress-free/pain-free dental appointment. All it requires is to take a simple pill and you’re off to your happy place.

The one downside is you will need someone to drive you to and from your appointment in addition to staying with you until the sedation wears off, which could be several hours after the appointment.

You’ll be able to repair whatever is going on with your teeth now, then in the future, because it allows the dentist to get more work in at each appointment, you’ll be able to get your oral health totally back on track.

Best of luck to you and get that tooth seen to.
This blog is brought to you by Hoffman Estates Dentist Dr. William Becker.

My Husband’s Terrified of the Dentist

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I need some help. My husband is absolutely a coward when it comes to the dentist. Normally, I put up with it, but now he’s got a toothache. He tries to hide it but I can tell. He’s eating tentatively and wincing when he thinks I’m not looking. I’m pretty sure he has an infection. Is there any way I can actually get him there?

Evelyn

Dear Evelyn,

Man holding his jaw in pain

Dental anxiety is quite common, so don’t be too hard on your husband. However, you’re right. Pain usually means a tooth infection. He will need to be seen. In fact, this is a dental emergency. Let him know people still die from tooth infections.

I don’t know if that will be enough to get him there. However, this might. There are dentists who cater to cowards. They can help your husband feel comfortable getting dental care.

One method that’s been very helpful to people in your situation is dental sedation. Your husband can take a simple pill, which will completely relax him, giving him a stress-free, pain-free dental appointment. The only downside is you’ll have to drive him to and from the appointment, as well as stay with him until he’s lucid.

What He Can Expect from His Sedation Dentist

The first things the dentist would do is to take x-rays and have a consultation with him about his medical history and any medications he’s on. Be sure your husband also lists any over-the-counter medications. This ensures the dentist won’t use any sedation which would interfere with anything your husband is currently using.

If it turns out he has an infection, the dentist will do a root canal treatment to remove any infected pulp. If necessary, he’ll also provide a dental crown. These procedures allow your husband to keep his natural tooth.

However, if the cavity or infection has progressed too far, he may need the tooth extracted. In that case, he’ll need to look at his tooth replacement options. The two best options are a dental implant and a dental bridge. He can discuss with a dentist which is best for his particular case.

This blog is brought to you by Hoffman Estates Dentist Dr. William Becker.

Can My Tooth Wait Until I See My Old Dentist?

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I just started college and have a problem. I developed a slight toothache. I went to see a dentist the university recommended but it was a disaster. My old dentist was so nice and patient with me. He knew I became nervous in the dental chair and said, “Not to worry. He loves fearful patients.” He’d go slow, explain everything to me, and if I needed a shot would give me nitrous ahead of time. This dentist was pushy and impatient. Not only that, he was so rough I thought I was going to cry. Is there a way I can hold off until my fall break to see my old dentist?

Andrea

Dear Andrea,

A woman smiling with her dentist

It’s hard finding a new dentist, especially after you’ve spent years with a great one. Truthfully, it’s hard to say whether or not you can wait until fall break without seeing your x-rays or having some more information. Did the dentist you saw (and didn’t like) mention if there was a cavity? Was it one that seemed close to a nerve or the pulp? Did he mention an infection?

If it’s an infection or close to the pulp, you really shouldn’t wait. Infections can turn into a dental emergency quickly. Some can become life-threatening. Believe it or not, even in this day and age people still die from tooth infections. But, that only happens when they wait too long to get treatment.

if you have to seek treatment right away, here are some things which can help you find a gentle, compassionate dentist, such as the dentist you grew up with was.

First, do an internet search using one of these terms:

After that, you should really take the additional step of checking their reviews. There are several online sites, such as Google Reviews or Yelp! which people write out their experience with the dentist. This should give you an idea of whether or not they’re what they advertise to be before you visit them.

If you’re not in a rush, for instance, if it’s just a small cavity that can be watched, then you’re probably safe to just wait until your break. Just make sure you go ahead and schedule the appointment soon so you’re sure to get in while you’re home.

However, if you start to hurt more, you’ll need to be seen again right away. Just try a different dentist.

This blog is brought to you by Hoffman Estates Dentist Dr. William Becker.