Hi. I don't want to freak myself out but I'm asking for advice anyway. I have pain that's managed well with meds, 1600mg of Tegretol and 400mg of Gabapentin. I get breakthrough pain sometimes and notice that it changes depending on what's happening in my life. But that's another conversation.
I am finally going to the dentist for a cleaning tomorrow and I'm nervous. I don't want the poking, picking, scraping to send me into a pain cycle. But I'm not sure how to avoid it. My pain is in my lower right jaw.
My neuro said that maybe if they shoot me up with novocaine, it might help me keep my jaw relaxed through the cleaning so that I don't tense up the muscles and compress the nerve. Has anyone ever tried that? Has anyone ever tried taking some extra meds before or after the visit? My neuro and I talked about that once but not specifically for this visit.
If anyone has helpful thoughts or advice, please no horror stories, I'd love to hear them. Thanks.
I take a little extra of my meds before getting any dental work. I also take either vicodin or a good dose of ibuprofin. If your dentist has nitrous, USE IT. No matter what the cost. It is soooo worth it. If you use nitrous make sure it's on a full stomach.
You could also try relaxation techniques during the process. I avoid needled in my mouth now if possible. |I had two filling yesterday without shots, I self hypnotised myself before and was so glad I avoided possible needle damage. This is about the 6th filling in the last 7 years I have had without a needle first. I don't advocate anyone suffer agony by having dental work without some anesthesia but do ask the dentist for his opinion first, shots are not always needed and no square lips after, bonus!
I'm a little late to respond, but I'm trying to spread the word. My facial pain specialist has me take 60mgs/day of Dextromothrophan the day before, the day of, and the day after any dental procedure. He says it blocks certain receptors in the brain and helps prevent you developing neuropathic pain due to the dental work. It's easy to do and makes sense. I'm doing from now on, for all procedures.
This is a great discussion as I was due for a cleaning in August. Need to get that done but I am scared. My TN is under control with 200 mg of Tegretol 2X per day. Don't want to upset the delicate balance!
Well, it went fine. I did my best to stay relaxed and I did great. I have taken today pretty easy, just waiting for the zaps to start, but so far, nothing. Maybe it's because I had my teeth cleaned in the morning and my mammogram this evening so my brain just didn't know what to do with all that medical stimulation. I know, way too much information. I'm just really glad today is over. Thanks for all the advice. I have a potential cavity happening in one of my lower right teeth (of course it's the neglected lower right) so I'm going to need to be diligent if I want to avoid a filling, but it sounds like there are options, even if I end up needing one. Thanks, everyone!!