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What Do You All Do About The Dentist?

Messages
70
Location
Chelmsford, England
I have my yearly check up at the dentist this week, which I am not looking forward to as I am not in a good patch and my BP is low and I am generally wiped out. The trouble is that teeth need care too, and these sort of visits are so draining, and of course if you need treatment it presents even more stress. How do you cope or do you simply avoid these dental check ups?
 

Ocean

Senior Member
Messages
1,178
Location
U.S.
Sadly, I haven't gone in years. I hate to think of what it may mean in the long run for me and my teeth. Could you reschedule for a time when you're doing a bit better physically?
 

Enid

Senior Member
Messages
3,309
Location
UK
I've had to have a lot of dental work Machair and wished it had been done sooner but unable as bed bound. Infections found and some extractions insisted upon by my Dentist. Do you have family or friends who could drive/take you in perhaps for appointment.
 

fla

Senior Member
Messages
234
Location
Montreal, Canada
I'm still recovering from a meeting with my insurance company lawyer last month so other outings like the holidays, dentist... fell by the wayside. An idea I had to minimize chances of a PENE crash would be to ask them if they can let me wait in an unused dentist's chair instead of in the waiting room. If you have POTS like me, that could potentially help.
 

Sushi

Moderation Resource Albuquerque
Messages
19,935
Location
Albuquerque
This is a hard one as teeth with problems can also worsen ME/CFS. I try to do triple preventive care to minimize the need for dental work.

If you do go and do need work, just carefully research the materials that they might propose putting into your mouth. Many of them (not just amalgam) are toxic. There is information on this buried somewhere in this forum

Best wishes with this,
Sushi
 

sianrecovery

Senior Member
Messages
828
Location
Manchester UK
I've had a years worth of expensive and unpleasant dental work, to find out from a second opinion a few days ago that much of it was misguided. I did it driven by recurrent infections. If you can avoid root fillings try hard to do so. They seem to be inherently problematic for people with issuses with immunity.
 

Sallysblooms

P.O.T.S. now SO MUCH BETTER!
Messages
1,768
Location
Southern USA
I get my six month cleaning and I don't think I have had to miss since I was a little child. I do sometimes have to change the date. But even when my POTS was much worse, I was SO ill, dizzy, nausea etc, I just used my wheelchair and got through it. Hubby takes me and helps which is wonderful. My dentists are always helpful. It was not easy at all, but the teeth and gums are so important like the brain or any other part of the body. Cleanings twice a year, flossing and cleaning at home prevent procedures that are much harder like cavities etc.

My dentists make sure I am ok and I do not like to lie very far back and they are so nice about all of it.
 

WillowJ

คภภเє ɠรค๓թєl
Messages
4,940
Location
WA, USA
they loan me shaded glasses to cut down on the glare from the overhead light.

My dentists are very kind, too.

If I do need work done I tell them I'm allergic to nitrous oxide (I had a reaction once, before I was sick, and was told by a doctor to say this, but I think it's common for PWME to not tolerate this med very well; it is a gas typically used to relax patients in a dental office).
 

sandgroper

Senior Member
Messages
104
Location
west australia
dentist

Have just been today. My jaw was trembling...we had to keep it brief.

I need checkups due to periodontal disease...used to prioritise these twice a year when I was not as ill

...now i have had only 3 visits in 4 years to a local dentist who is very kind and caring. Due to severe OI I have to lay completely flat (having discovered even a slight upright angle was too much for me). i have a non adrenaline annaesthetic if I have to have a needle ( a good reason for going more often).

its unfortunate that my preventative measures have not been as rigorous as they were due to the severity of my symptoms but good cleaning is really critical for me.

In hindsight I had too much dental work done in 1998. I had not realised that I would get so ill from it and now realise I should have spaced it out over a longer period of time. i also delayed having a crown which resulted in a worse situation when the tooth broke. So prioritising things is important too.

of course when you can't go you can't go and that is all there is to it. Then it may mean taking antibiotics to keep an infection at bay.

Investment in an electric toothbrush is also good - sitting down to use it - for those with OI.

Sand
 

Snow Leopard

Hibernating
Messages
5,902
Location
South Australia
I'm waiting until I get health insurance again (have to start paying for it by ~30 years of age). Besides getting my wisdom teeth removed via the state/socialised system, I haven't been to a dentist for like, 10 years. This might be a problem, but whatever...
 

hurtingallthetimet

Senior Member
Messages
612
i hate going to dentist..cost wise and anxiety wise...i had horrible expericnce i had posted about i always go back and forth to write down medical history and medications at dentist or eye doctor..hubby told me i should in case they needed to prescripe something or whatever i really wish i hadnt the tech made hurtful remarks..she didnt believe in fibro...i was on too many medications..it had a box to mark home maker and thats what i marked she asked "if id ever done any kind of work outside the home" i was so humiliated...id work my whole life and was very proud of it...and i hate not being able to work...i was a workaholic...

so ive had bad expreicnces..and it hurt really bad afterwards...mouth teeth back...and i cried from the techs remarks...im not going back to them for myself...but if someone can find a good dentist who isnt too costly then i think everyoen should go get good cleaning though its painful to me...and good check up twice a year to make sure nothing gets out of hand..

take care hope you have or find a wonderful caring kind dentist
 
Messages
2,565
Location
US
I don't go until I have to.

I get the shots made with a different formula. I don't know what they're called but I ask for the one without epinephrine. I can't deal with the ones that have it.
 
Messages
71
Thankfully, this doesn't bother me at all -- I go for regular dental checkups and just recently had the whole orthodontic (braces) shebang done.

Take care of your teeth (brushing, flossing, rinsing) so you don't have to have as much work done or any at all (personally, I've never had any cavities or anything like that).

If your dentist allows it, see if you can bring your iPod or MP3 player with music that makes you feel more comfortable, and/or bring a close friend or family member along to keep you company.

ME or not, some people just don't like going to the dentist -- don't be afraid to let the dentist and assistant know that you have ME. Typically they ask for a brief medical history (or at least mine does) with other conditions you've had, recent surgeries, medications you are on, etc.

Best of luck... hope all goes well for you! :hug:
 
Messages
75
Location
Australia
This is a hard one as teeth with problems can also worsen ME/CFS. I try to do triple preventive care to minimize the need for dental work.

If you do go and do need work, just carefully research the materials that they might propose putting into your mouth. Many of them (not just amalgam) are toxic. There is information on this buried somewhere in this forum

Best wishes with this,
Sushi

Anyone happen to know where the info Sushi talks about re options and toxicity can be found? I've managed to get an appointment for less than 24 hrs away and suspect I'm going to need a little filling where I've overbrushed a tooth. From what I can in a quick search it seems composite is a better alternative than porcelain at this point? Quite concerned about doing something that will turn out not to be a good decision for my body in the long-term.
 

Sushi

Moderation Resource Albuquerque
Messages
19,935
Location
Albuquerque
Anyone happen to know where the info Sushi talks about re options and toxicity can be found? I've managed to get an appointment for less than 24 hrs away and suspect I'm going to need a little filling where I've overbrushed a tooth. From what I can in a quick search it seems composite is a better alternative than porcelain at this point? Quite concerned about doing something that will turn out not to be a good decision for my body in the long-term.

Do you have a dentist who will test your compatibility with the materials?

Also, you might want to avoid injections with any form of epinephrine. I think the one I have used is carbocaine.

Sushi
 

Dreambirdie

work in progress
Messages
5,569
Location
N. California
Going to the dentist is a huge challenge for most of us. In my case, having both MCS and CFS, I become very toxic from being in the dentist's office. So I have to load up on anti-oxidants and transdermal glutathione in advance. I also take a big dose of magnesium and holy basil to calm my nerves. I used to get my teeth drilled with no anesthetic, but I have found that I can tolerate it now, so I ask for it. It's a relief to not be in severe pain.

I had 4 teeth pulled in the past year and a half. Two were rotting wisdom teeth, and the others were in need of root canals, but I opted to pull them instead. Because my teeth have roots that are 30% longer than the average person, these extractions were brutal and exhausting. The wisdom teeth each took 3 hours to extract. :eek::eek::eek: The molar took about an hour and half, the bicuspid about half an hour. The dentist used mepivocaine without epinephrine, which I had requested... except for the one time when he (the freaking idiot) forgot, and gave me the version with epinephrine. It caused a racing heart and intense anxiety for half an hour, and drained me afterwards. LESSON: Ask questions REPEATEDLY, and double check EVERY THING being put in your mouth.

It also helps a lot to have a "body guard." During my extractions, I had my partner sitting at my feet pressing acupuncture points, handing me electrolyte drinks and adaptogens. I really needed that, and couldnt have gotten through them without him.

Drilling cavities is much easier, and tho it's tiring and makes me toxic, I definitely prefer it to extractions. It's a good idea not to wait until that point.
 

ukxmrv

Senior Member
Messages
4,413
Location
London
I don't go to the dentist. My trips out of home just aren't enough to cope with things that I don't need to do. All these types of routines things became impossible 10 years ago.

Have to prioritise and it's a case of the "squeaky wheel gets the oil". If I had have dental problems I'd try and get someone to to my home if possible. Had a social care assessment a while back and he gave me the name of a mobile dentist. No idea of the charges though.

I know that I am lucky. My teeth are stable and the ones that need fillings aren't getting worse. I can see a dentist every 5-10 years for a deep clean and to get the occassional filling. If I lose the odd tooth over the decades I'll survive. With this disease none of us know how long we will live. It's not worth a years even more terrible health for such little gains.

The dental treatment I had have in the past has caused massive downturns in my health. It's just not worth it for fillings that keep falling out and for holes in teeth not getting any bigger. I look after my teeth at home.

Every dentist I have seen writes a big treatment plan and seems keen to do a lot of very expensive work on one particular old tooth that loses it's filling but is fine otherwise. It's not worth the hassle for me and I sympathise with other patients who have major problems that they cannot avoid.
 

Little Bluestem

All Good Things Must Come to an End
Messages
4,930
I flossed my teeth while I was reading this. I very much believe in preventative dental care. Unfortunately, I don't practice it as well as I should.

Dental visits don't particularly bother me. I usually have the drilling done without anesthesia. I can't even say when I was last at the dentist. I haven't been for a 'regular' check-up in years. I just don't have the time/energy to get to the dentist (until I lose a filling or break a tooth). I now have a tooth that I suspect has a cavity below the filling, so that may require drilling deep enough to require anesthesia. I had a really bad experience with an anesthetic shot when I was young, so avoid them if at all possible. Are there any gases that are safe for pME?
 
Messages
75
Location
Australia
Do you have a dentist who will test your compatibility with the materials?

Also, you might want to avoid injections with any form of epinephrine. I think the one I have used is carbocaine.

Sushi


Hi Sushi

I haven't been to this dentist before but I very much doubt the testing for compatibility will be an option - possibly with a holistic dentist but they are very rare and very expensive here.

Thanks for the tip on the epinephrine, will note that one down now.
 

Dreambirdie

work in progress
Messages
5,569
Location
N. California
I haven't been to this dentist before but I very much doubt the testing for compatibility will be an option - possibly with a holistic dentist but they are very rare and very expensive here.

I did the compatabilty testing through a holistic doctor's office. They drew the blood and sent it off for me. Once I had the results, I had to talk my dentist into getting the materials that I wanted. He agreed, and I have used these materials ever since.

The lab that did the tests is called CLIFFORD CONSULTING AND RESEARCH.
http://www.ccrlab.com/index.html