Need root canal with irregular heart beat

[ni]

I need to have a root canal and I am so very nervous.  Every time I have gone for dental work I could always feel the pain--even with novicane.  Is there anything else that the dentist can give to me that can help with the pain?  I do have an irregular heart beat- I suffer from sinus tachycardia and PACS.  It is my top molar.  What are the cons of just pulling the tooth?  I am 27 years old-

Gina

[Jerome Bogin, D.D.S.]

Dear Gina, There are many reasons you would not like to lose the your tooth prematurely. I don't know if you are experiencing pain during dental treatment because of the anesthesia that you are receiving. It is possible that because of your heart condition the local anesthesia does not contain any vasoconstrictor which the area numb for a longer period of time. There are LAs that can accomplish that. If your tooth is restorable after the RCT I would certainly consider saving it.

[whelans5]

The freezing does help.  Having said that, some people have to get more of the freezing than others.  My mother for instance, is really scared of the dentist's office, so she takes an Ativan before going to the dentist and the Ativan kind of nullifies some of the freezing, so she needs to get more of the freezing.

I guess it depends on the person how much it takes to freeze the gums and tooth thoroughly. But, in my particular situation, I was just fine getting the root canal. Actually, I have had about 5 root canals and I did ok for each one.  I sometimes get palps from the needles, but it does go away and told it won't hurt me.  I think some of the palps are from nerves.

One thing I do when I go to the dentist is deep breathing so I can relax.  That too will help with a fast heartbeat and palps.  I just breath in through your nose to the count of four (belly breathing) and then hold it for 4 seconds, then breath out through your mouth for 4 seconds and then don't breath for 4 seconds. It also helps to say to yourself, I am relaxed and calm.  Repeat this step a few times or like me, the whole time the dentist is working. haha  That breathing technique is great for stressful situations and just plain old relaxing at bedtime.

Hope that helps.

[ni]

The novican is the needle ( the freezing)  did that really help you with the root canals?  I am so afraid that is not going to be enough.  I have had fillings done and I could feel some of the pain.  

gina

[whelans5]

No dentist likes to pull teeth unless it's absolutely necessary.  I once needed a root canal, but at the time didn't have dental insurance.  So, I had it pulled.  I wish I hadn't because it threw my bite off.  When you pull a tooth it makes room for movement of the other teeth.  Besides, to get a tooth pulled you still need freezing.

Is the nerve still alive in your tooth?  I have had many root canals and one of them I didn't need any freezing because all the nerves were dead.  There is a device the dentist can use to find out.

Is novocaine the stuff you breath in?  I am in Canada and have never been offered anything like that in the dentist's office.  I just get a needle to freeze the site.  Some of the needles have adrenaline and some don't.  I too have palpitations and ask for the needle without the adrenaline because the adrenaline will bring palpitations on.  Maybe you could ask your dentist about the freezing without adrenaline.

Hope that helps and good luck with the root canal.