Sometimes it isnt good to be a health professional

[Noryn]

I guess sometimes ignorance is bliss. I was at the dentist's office yesterday for a cleaning and the hygienist told me I would need a "debridement." I dont tell people that I am a RN at medical establishments because I think it can create some tension or stress for the medical person. I also like to see how they treat me when they think I have very little medical knowledge.

Anyway she told me I would need a debridement and it was like a cleaning but "different". She had to have gotten that line from school because the way she said that brought back my memories of nursing school when they told us to tell the patients a NG tube is not painful it is just uncomfortable. Yeah right. I am not too knowledgeable about dental procedures so when she mentioned debridement I was thinking, "Oh my god they are going to cut tissue away." I came home and found out that debridement(and I am sure I will be corrected if I am wrong) is basically scaling and root planing.

Now if I didnt have this dang medical knowledge I would be like, I am just going for a deeper cleaning. Now I get to worry because when we use terms such as "different" it usually means its going to be bad.

I guess it is like you should never ever go to the ER and tell them you are throwing up blood . What we dont know cant hurt us--well that is until the procedure.

[meownsmile, BSN, RN]

My husband had to have root scaling several years ago. It wasnt a fun procedure for sure. Afterward they wanted him to come back for bone grafting. Seems if the tartar buildup on the roots isnt kept under control it can lead to bone receding from around the tooth root. He never did go back for the other procedure, but hasnt had any trouble since luckily.

Good luck and hang in there.

[pannie]

If it's any consolation, you'll have sedation.

[TazziRN, RN]

I had a similar experience about being an army brat. My dad went with me when I went looking for my first apartment. The manager at one complex said that they pride themselves on not accepting Section 8's as she was leaving the room for a moment.

Dad: "Did she say Section 8?"

Me: "Yeeeeeeeaaah......"

When she came back we asked her about it, and by this time I was pretty nervous. She explained that Section 8 in CA means low-income, public-assistance housing. My dad and I started laughing and told her that in the military Section 8 means pysch!

[Noryn]

If it's any consolation, you'll have sedation.

Are you serious? To the best of my knowledge there will be no sedation--I will be driving to and from there.

[SmilingBluEyes]

Lord have mercy, just having had a root canal, (I had no idea my tooth had cracked, can you imagine that), I feel for ya. I don't get it---I keep my teeth and gums in scrupulously clean and tip-top shape, according to my dentist------yet there I was getting a lovely root canal.

I get shivers w/dental work. Just HATE it. And "sedation" may mean simply nitrous oxide gas while you get done......ask about what they do or don't do if you are a wreck at dentistry like I am. Nitrous is great for some---and it wears off instantly when stopped. You do drive home w/o problems. I would never want IV sedation. No thanks.

And you are right; sometimes we "medical types" know just enough to feel dangerous don't we??? rofl.

[pannie]

Tazzi - ROFL!!!!

I had the "scaping" done and had IV sedation. And was darn grateful for it, too! However, my mouth seemed to run away with me during the procedure. Seems like no matter how you brush and floss, age still catches up with you! Ugh! Maybe your procedure will not be such "deep" cleaning?

[GoldenFire5]

I just finished the second of two deep cleaning root planing/scaling treatments at a new dentist. They did my whole mouth - left side a week ago and right side yesterday. I didn't have sedation (just injections)... but that could have been because my pockets are not extremely deep - just 3 - 5 mms. I also had the treatment with Arestin. If your dentist didn't offer that, it's worth asking about it.

Anyway, I just spent $900 on my mouth (on a nursing student's budget - ack!), but I figure if it prevents more serious problems down the road it will be worth it.

http://www.arestin.com/c_about.asp

[LilRedRN1973]

As someone who has had about $15,000 of work done in the past 2 years, I feel for you. I've had tissue grafting (they cut slices of tissue from the roof of my mouth and stitched them to my gums below), crown lengthening (another name for 'we are going to forcefully cut away parts of your gum and you will be in pain for weeks'), and my 4 front lower teeth extracted with bone grafts done. I had most of this done while in nursing school. I'm onlyh 32 and it stinks to have had all this dental work done at such a young age (I'm always the youngest person in my periodontist's waiting room).

I will be getting implants done as soon as my brother-in-law and sister-in-law finish perio school, but until then, I have a crappy bridge that stinks.

The only nice thing is I received IV sedation with all the procedures. Versed and Fentanyl can really make dental procedures much more tolerable. I lost count of the root canals I've had one (around 10, probably) and no sedation with any of them (save for 10mg of valium beforehand). I can say I much prefer a little IV meds over the valium and needles!

Melanie =)

[holmgirl21]

I recently had root scaling and planing done on my top and bottom molars on both sides. I received novocaine in each area. I have a very low pain tolerance, but the procedure didn't seem to bother me as much as I thaught it would. My gums were a little swollen and tender, but didn't seem to bother me for more than a day. Good luck. You will be fine

[landonsles]

I worked in the dental field for 6 years--in my office, a debridement was halfway between a reg cleaning and a deep scaling and root planing. We use Oraqix--it's a cool needle-less anesthetic (think topical times 1000!). Ask if your office uses it--it'll save you an injection.

Good luck--and different does not always equal bad (or painful)!

[christymwinn]

Ok, I am going to the clean supply room and snagging a tooth brush and toothpaste! This thread freaked me out!!!

Christine