Archive for anxiety

Tooth pain!

Dear Doctor has plenty of useful information. Here is an article about tooth pain — the different types of pain, possible causes, and treatments. These are the kinds of questions Dr. Conner asks you when she’s evaluating whether or not you need a root canal treatment. Is it sharp, shooting tooth pain or more of a dull ache or throbbing. Is it sensitive to hot or cold? Does it linger or go away? Do you have pain when you bite down?

tooth painOne thing I’ve learned working in an endodontics practice — it doesn’t get better on it’s own! It only gets worse (and the longer you wait, the more expensive the treatment options become). If you’re having tooth pain, go see your dentist! I know people have a lot of anxiety about going to the dentist (I’m one of them!), but there’s medication for that. Ask your dentist for an anxiolytic…it makes the whole experience virtually stress-free.

Something I see most days is someone whose pain finally was severe enough to overcome their anxiety and they ended up in our office for root canal treatment. Unfortunately, they’re in too much pain to get numb! Then we need several days to get the pain under control enough to actually treat the tooth. So, don’t wait, go to your dentist when the pain is noticeable and before it’s unbearable (and you need a root canal…or worse, have to pull the tooth).

Before your root canal consult

Before you visit an endodontist for a possible root canal treatment, a few things would help in the diagnosis and treatment.

First, do not take any pain medications (aspirin, Ibuprofen, Advil, etc.) before your exam appointment. If you mask your symptoms, the doctor may not be able to isolate which tooth is causing the problems. Antibiotics can do this as well so timing of the exam with taking antibiotics is important.

Second, have a list of the medications you are taking. You don’t want those ugly adverse drug interactions happening.

man relaxing in chairFinally, if you are anxious, let the doctor know. There is no need to stress over this. While your mind may know it’s just like a long, boring filling, you can still be emotionally stressed. That can make it difficult to get numb. And, numbing is a good thing. So, your doctor can prescribe an anxiolytic. Chill….