Dentist rude…sen

[TheOpalFox]

The dentist rang and I explained about my son being too scared of the dentist and he won’t be going back for root canal treatment while fully awake, without help and she was really rude!!! Saying things like, he will be okay. Just bring him ? No he won’t? He’s wet himself, been screaming the house down and won’t stop shaking, so he needs sedation!!!! Root canal isn’t nice as an adult, never mind an sen child with special needs
Just upset me how she was like just bring him, he will be okay?
I’m sure he will be but he can’t cope with it!!!

More awareness needed :(

South of England.

I had to have it a few years ago, I went somewhere different, St Faiths in Grinstead I think it was. That was a similar cost. It's not complete sedation, I think it's called conscious sedation, so you are hardly under. You come round almost immediately.

I've had six root canals and only once had a dental dam. I've never had an infection. They can definitely do it without one.

You won’t get RCT under sedation or GA on the NHS unless EXCEPTIONAL circumstances and a VERY long wait. Maybe the dentist just thought it was worth a try and was trying to be helpful to save your son some pain if possible?

Sometimes people with sensory issues prefer treatment under rubber dam as no water / sensations in the mouth.

Have you had a root canal? It feels like someone doing a deep dive into the core of my soul, it's horrible. And painful, and feels awful having your mouth forcibly open for so long. I have been working on my dental phobia and was so proud of my 42 yr old self for managing an awake root canal earlier this year. It took actual therapy to get me here. It was worse than the dental implant I also needed counselling to get.

No dentist that values their GDC registration is doing RCT without rubber dam in 2025.

It's considered bad practice to do RCT without the dam because it means the interior of the tooth is exposed to bacteria. The indemnify companies won't defend a dentist who hasn't used one during RCT.

This is nonsense! My DD has autism and saw a NHS special needs dentist within a week of referral!

@SundaymorningcallaShe then received general anaesthetic for the procedure at the local hospital. Please get your facts right

As I’ve just said above, my autistic daughter saw a special needs dentist within a week and was under GA at the local hospital 2 weeks later. In the outpatient ward there were 8 other young children with special needs having dental procedures that day. All NHS.

Different parts of the country vary. All these stories are anecdotal. You need to speak to your dentist and get a referral to paediatrics. And then be guided by your dentist as to what is the norm in your particular health board area.
to clear up a couple of points- you will not ever get a GA for RCT. It’s pull the tooth or nothing. You might get it under sedation if lucky.
Rubber dam is vital. For many reasons. As discussed above. Dentists do t want to risk their registration any more.

I agree. I explained uptrend about nhs paediatric dental services in hospitals and everyone ignored me! My daughter has autism and got referred and was seen quickly.

I had a panic attack last time they tried to do a root canal on me. I found the dam really panic inducing as you can’t remove it yourself once it’s in, and it even takes them a couple of minutes to take it out (as I found when I was having a panic attack!). It’s horrible to have your mouth wedged open like that with no control and it can feel like you can’t breathe. Plus root canals take a while so it’s it not a quick “put up with it for 5 minutes” job. Can completely see why someone with SEN would struggle with all of this.

I haven't had one in 2025 the last one I had was in 2010. Also I don't believe that my dentist in Ohio is registered with GDC.

I've had 4 root canals done privately and never had a rubber dam - had to Google it to even see what it was! Worth checking if they are going to use one as there's obviously methods they can use to avoid?

Ask to be referred to the Community Dental Service. Their remit is very much children with special needs.
They can do sedation, usually inhalational, to do a root canal. They would be very unlikely to do a GA for RCT though.
No one will be doing RCT without rubber dam. If you can’t have rubber dam, have an extraction. It isn’t worth the risk- not really about infection, more about a swallowed or inhaled file or bleach.
What tooth is it? If it’s an incisor they will do a lot more to save it than a molar. Is it damaged through decay or through trauma? Also relevant.

My daughter has just been referred to a local NHS dental hospital that offers specialist care for children with additional needs. No idea if it will be any better, but it is a step in the right direction. Is that something you can ask about? (Apologies if I am repeating anyone else’s advice!)

Maybe I should go to your dentist next time!
Seriously, I have had a couple of dentists and they both insisted on dams with root canal work.

This is hilarious, 15 years ago in OHIO 😂😂😂

Dental dams are VERY different from rubber dams. Seriously look it up!!!

but seriously when I first trained as a dentist we didn’t use rubber dam very much, despite being taught the theory. It is time consuming, patients don’t always like them, and they are really fiddly. Some older dentists don’t really like change, and can’t be arsed learning the skill of applying them. So they just don’t bother.
but over the years I’ve started seeing the benefits. All the research and theory points to vastly superior root treatment using the rubber dam- better isolation, drier, more accuracy, less likely to have leakage of hypochlorite ( bleach) in the mouth.
but also there is a health and safety concern. I once heard of a dentist who didn’t use one, the patient inhaled a file, which ended up in their lung, and had to have complicated open surgery in an attempt to have the file removed.

This is by far and away the main reason why rubber dam should be used. if your dentist doesn’t use one I would ask them why not.

I go to an NHS dentist which has services for people with disabilities. I go because I need the wheelchair access and I can't transfer to the chair, but I know of people who have been offered sedation by this service.

Even if under the special care dental service, they may not do RCT under sedation or GA.

DS was already under them. He had previously had dental procedures under GA. Then he needed RCT of a molar. He would have needed IV sedation or GA in a hospital setting. No-one would do a RCT of a molar under IV sedation or GA. Not the service who had already undertaken dental procedures under GA (and has since carried out other procedures under GA) and not other specialist services/dental hospitals. He ended up with an extraction under GA. I even started a thread on MN about it.