Has anyone had dental sedation?

[Allice]

I'm having the root of a broken tooth taken out tomorrow and am going to have sedation.
I'm not great with the dentist, hence the broken tooth but when push comes to shove I can normally deal with it.

I've been referred to another dentist as it is surgical, I think that this dentist also deals with very nervous patients. At the consultation the dentist said that he would do sedation, wouldn't take very long and everything would be fine.

It's just now, as the time has got closer I'm more worried about the sedation than the extraction, has anyone had it? What is the recovery like?

Ok, so I don't want to scare you, but;
I reacted really badly. Think remembering none of my recovery until I was being shaken awake by the nurses because I kept forgetting to breathe.

I was since told it happened because I didn't eat before hand. So make sure you eat. And the pain afterwards was softened by recovering from the sedation, and I don't remember any of the op. Hth.

Oh bugger, you have scared me!

I'm not allowed to eat or drink for 4 hours before, appointment is at 10.30 so I'm limited in what I can have.

I'm not that concerned about the recovery from the extraction, guess that will be like normal tooth removal pain but with a few stitches thrown in.

Wonder if they'll do it without the sedation, I'm a brave girl (wibbles)

I had sedation and didn't eat anything before hand. I remember the counting down to 8 I think, then waking up and feeling fine.

I was then told to go lie down on a recovery bed for about 10 minutes.

The bit that hurt the most was when they put the sedation in and obviously having a sore mouth was not too good either.

I had a tooth out a fortnight ago, with just local anaesthetic injections and was a complete wreck through the entire thing.

I would recommend sedation every time.

Thank you so much for replying, so happy to read a positive story!
How did you feel when you woke? Woozy?

Sedation was fine for me, in fact I loved it, best sleep I had in years.
(I had my wisdom teeth taken out when I had a toddler who never slept)
I made them give me a script for pain relief, and I had to have prophylactic antibiotics too as they had to take a bit of jaw bone.....

I was fine after after about half an hour in the waiting room: DH came to collect me and I spent the day as usual with the dcs.

I took some woo homeopathic remedy of arnica, and aconite, and some powders of 200c phosphorous which had been recommended for getting rid of the effects of the anaesthetic.

I had dissolvable stitches, and went back after two weeks to see how the wounds healed. They were all fine.

Oh I'm sorry, I didn't want to scare you!!!
I react badly to a lot of stuff (I throw up if I smoke cigarettes)

Hope it goes well got you x

Thank you both.
I don't sleep that well due to children that wake at 5am so it might do me good!

I had sedation and would definately have it again!

They were talking to me about my job and i just fell asleep, DH came with me and drove me home after and I have to say I wouldn't have been able to go to work in the afternoon - I slept for about six hours once I got home.

I also had dissolvable stitches as the dentist said the hole left would be too large - I had no problem with them either.

I've never had sedation but I frequently perform surgical extractions with or without sedation. I can assure you that unwelcome reactions are very rare, much more unusual than reactions to general anaesthetic for example. We all have to keep an emergency reversal drug immediately to hand whenever we use sedation, in over 10 years I've never had to even think of using it, but it's there ready to go every single time. You will be monitored closely & the sedation titrated to your response, so you get what you need and no more. This again keeps side effects to a minimum &, in my experience, dentists are better at doing this than other medics who have a tendency to just whack a load in. People usually recover quickly & can go home (must be accompanied). They may feel a little wobbly/tired but not much more. One documented side effect is sexual fantasies whilst your under
We're not meant to describe it in terms of alcohol but imagine you've drank a bottle of good red wine ( but minus the hangover)
As to whether to have the sedation or not, ask the dentist what they think. I can usually estimate fairly accurately how long/how easy a surgical is going to be from the X-ray. See what they say & if you think you want it or not.

Thank you so much for your replies, really reassuring.
I'm assume the dentist knows his stuff and if he says sedation, then sedation it is, not sure I'll be able to look him in the eye if I've been having sexual fantasies!
Still, it will valentines day!

Good luck Alice. I had sedation, it was fine, I had no bad reaction. I was very woozy, my mum brought me to hers, I slept it off. As I was there she had put a soft towel on the pillow case which helped as I did drool a bit. Ask the dentist what painkillers you can take later. Depending what you have done you might not be supposed to rinse yiurouth for a while. If you think you might not have the sedation bring your iPod, and something for your hands, a stress ball or a smooth stone. I'm a wimp at the dentist, so extra good luck to you!

I've had it and it was fine. I was vaguely aware of the dentist digging around in my jaw but couldn't care less.

Felt quite woozy and confused afterwards so definitely needed looking after for a bit.

Hope it goes OK!

Totally agree with isisisis that it is like being pissed but there is no hangover!

Had sedation twice to remove wisdom teeth - it was utterly blissful. I had no idea they'd even removed my teeth. I did feel woozy afterwards and had to get the train home (DH can't drive and the clinic was miles away) but it was really fine and recovery was straightforward.

I've had it twice, once for a wisdom tooth extraction.

It's fantastic.I remember nothing about it.

The first time I remained feeling quite stoned for quite a while after, the second time I just kept dropping afterwards.

You really do need someone with you after.

I would not have a tooth out now without sedation.

CORRECTION : Dropping off.

You should of been told that you HAVE to have someone with you for 24 hours post sedation. That you can't drive, care for children or make important decisions. You also shouldn't be going home on public transport - car or taxi only.
I will only sedate people if I have personally met the person accompanying them & discussed & agreed the above with them. No agreement = No sedation. That is the recommended approach & what I believe to be standard care.

Thanks again for all your replies.
My husband will be with me all day and all weekend.
I've met the dentist, he was very reassuring, gave me the impression it was very run of the mill and wouldn't take very long.
Not long to go, should be almost over in an hour!

I might be too late, but just to add that I've had IV sedation twice and would do it again in a heartbeat, it was a doddle

Hope it goes ok!

I didn't have anyone with me at home. My SIL looked after DS.

I just spent 24 hours doing naff all and eating soup.

I removed one of the dissolvable stitches early because it was irritating my mouth.

I sloshed salt water round my mouth at every opportunity and then used mouthwash.

No ill effects from any of it.

Just wanted to say thanks to all.

It's all over! seemed to take 2 minutes but can't really remember anything. Sat in bed watching the Olympics and feeling really ok, very swollen mouth but that's to be expected.
Your messages made me feel so much better, very much appreciated, thank you (me but my cheeks are much bigger!)

Glad it went well. Hopefully it won't be too painful when the numbness wears off!

Well done!