Is gas sedation an option? I went that route when I had my wisdom teeth extracted. Did not feel a thing, it also wears off quickly once the procedure is done

I believe it may be, although I've had nitrous oxide in the dentist's office before and didn't like the way it made me feel at all. I remember feeling completely "out of body." I'm hoping Valium will just give me a nice, warm, sleepy, "I don't care what you do to me because I'm going to take a nap" sort of feeling. ;-)

I've had some pretty extensive work done over the years and would not take anything. Anytime I tried something I turned into the comedian . I'm surprised they got any work done being that I didn't shut up the whole time. I should have sold tickets as people were coming in from other areas for a laugh.

You get good and numbed up for the procedure so there's a good chance you will feel zero pain.

I was given Valium prior to a procedure on 2 occasions and had no issues. Honestly, I felt mildly stoned but that'a a memory from long ago. Hey man....que paso?? :-)

First of all, Ambien & Valium are totally different medications.

Ambien, IMHO (for me) is just awful. I had about the same experience as you did with it. Many people have problems w/Ambien.

Valium
is a pretty strong "anti anxiety" type medication, I would consider 1
step above a Xanax. I had it a long time ago for some dental work, and
it was definitely helpful as far as relaxation goes. I'd give it a
trial run, but I think I'd try it 2 days before, in case it isn't as
effective as you require.

If you tell the DDS that the gas isn't relaxing you, they can bump it up some. There are different levels they administer it as well. Personally, I always get the gas. Mainly because I'm claustrophobic and can only take so long of them being in my face. LOL

Be sure you have a designated driver!

Good luck Idaclaire!!

I have tried Ativan previously for anxiety related issues, it gave me the 'calm warm nap' type feeling, low dose.. I was still fully functional - no comedy show lol. I say do a test run of the valium and see how it works for you, i believe valium is the stronger of the two medications.

Everyone reacts different to meds so it's best to see how it will affect you. Definitely make sure you bring a DD with you

Was he going to do IV sedation (which is not the same as general anesthesia, btw) and you objected?

A couple of years ago I had tori removal (bony growths) in my lower jaw. I had the choice of local numbing or IV sedation. The prospect of 90 minutes of bone removal while awake did not appeal, so I opted for the IV. The needle went in, then a warm feeling. The next thing I knew, I was sitting in a chair in a different room and my friend came in to give me a ride home. I was still numbed up so I felt nothing (the pain was nearly nonexistent) and had zero memory of the procedure. No hangover or weirdness.

Years ago I had some crown work done on my molars. I opted for nitrous oxide and it was like being at a cocktail party. Everyone was a comedian. I was almost sorry when all the work was over.

I LOVE valium, lol. I took it for a while a gazillion years ago for a specific issue. It didn’t affect me at all except reduced anxiety. I stopped voluntarily when I realized how much I liked how it made me feel. Over the years I took one once or twice for anxiety over dental procedures but not for many years. I had an implant with nothing but numbing and it was fine. No gas or valium.

Once I was prescribed lorazepam (the generic valium) and it had no effect on me at all. I don’t take any drugs except ibuprofen for arthritis.

Most of my patients have had either procedure with nothing but local anesthesia and the feedback from most implant patients is that single implant placement is surprisingly easy.

All reactions are personal and depend on your "starting line" so to say

I take Valium regularly (for different purposes-muscle relaxation), so as I'm used to it it doesn't already play any role as anti-anxiety, or something. It's just a medicine I need to get through the day

(many more were tried during years, it's always trial and error-and they either didn't help, stopped helping, had bad side effects or I was allergic to them. so I'm kinda stuck with that Valium. At certain point one is destined to bump the dosage, if he uses it daily. The effect will get weaker as years go by, and the symptoms would manifest more often and more strongly=requiring another pill)

I believe somebody who never took it before will see more of that relaxing, calming allover effect, maybe wanting to sleep, along these lines.

While totally innocent things like over the counter Melatonin, almost sent me to emergency room, I also had awful side effects to several antibiotics etc. I get hives from everything containing sulfa-that's sad because otherwise sulfates help lol. Alas, no sulfates for me. So on so forth. One really doesn't know until he tries. And sometimes reaction can appear to something that was well tolerated before.

It's a good idea to take a pill in advance to see how you react to it, Sometimes I take half a pill, given it's big enough to divide..that's how I'm afraid of anything new:)

Ambien, I tried for insomnia..for me, no side effects but sadly no good effects either:) helps for first couple nights..then it's like you never took a pill. It's really a pill one should use once in a long while. It's also prescribed for short periods of time only.

Lorazepam is not generic Valium..Diazepam is Valium..Lorazepam is same class of drugs I believe, but start working faster and is not long lasting((say Valium gets one 4-5 hours of relaxation, Lorazepam-one or two, but starts working almost immediately

One gets used to it very fast, unfortunately, I had to take years of no taking Lorazepam at all and then re-introduce it again to see any effect. It's a pity since it's a good "save me fast" drug. For me. But yes, found it less effective, in the long run.

It was local anesthesia for me when I had implants etc.

(I need to do major dental work btw but it's so daunting I can't bring myself to start. For several years already..I'm also afraid they won't do a good job..and have no idea who will do a good job. Overall it's a good dentist..it's just front teeth, all that jazz. Also somehow upper jaw hurts much more lol)

Sammy, my options were local anesthesia (my preference), nitrous oxide, IV sedation (twilight sleep), or general anesthesia. He said about half his patients opt for IV or general sedation, and the other half are comfortable going the local/Valium route or nitrous.

I have had valium before a closed tube scan long ago, and I only took half. We have to give it to my lab around the 4th and New Year's due to fireworks. I tend to think of it as benadryl plus, just not for allergies, IYKWIM. i only remember it making me sleepy. I've never had Ambien but would not be concerned about the same kind of reaction to valium.

You might consider having the sedation or at least talking about it. I try to avoid it at all costs too, but I had a dental procedure where the doc only worked with sedation because he said it makes his work easier and more accurate where tiny differences matter. His work is excellent (did both sons' wisdom teeth), so I reluctantly went with it. But it also wasn't like my knee surgery (meniscus repair) -- you aren't completely under like for surgery and it is easier. I also think that it was the pain meds they gave me after my knee surgery that really made me feel so bad.

The oral surgeon gave me some tramadol -- think I took one dose after I got home and only Aleve and ice after that. He's also an advocate of anti-inflamatories and only using pain meds only as needed in the first day or two. He says most patients heal faster and better with less pain meds rather than more and that's what works for me since I don't get along with most pain meds (the tramadol did not make me sick like most, but I only needed the one dose that evening).

Wanted to share my fought it but came around experience. Still hate the general, but I like walking enough that it was worth it for my knee. Hope everything goes smoothly for you.

Thank you all so much for your input. It's tremendously helpful! I feel fairly well at ease about the upcoming procedures -- probably a bit more anxious about the extraction than I am the implant, after the surgeon said it's typically the longer process and can be a bit more difficult to extract a tooth like mine, which has had a root canal. He said I can expect to feel a good deal of pressure and hear sounds that might not be entirely pleasant, but that the procedure to place the implant will be smooth. My DH had an extraction and implant a number of years ago (I think it may have been on the exact same molar I'm dealing with), and he did the whole thing with only local anesthesia without incident.

I believe I will take the Valium as instructed, but perhaps two nights before the procedure as recommended above. I'm not terribly freaked out at the prospect of feeling pressure and hearing unpleasant sounds, but if the Valium will take any edge off and just give me that comfy, dozey feeling I'm after, it'll be worth it.

I took Valium years ago for something-don’t remember what-and it made me very sick at my stomach. When I had gum surgery, the dr. had me take a Xanax. It made me feel relaxed and sleepy with no gastro issues.

Re Tramadol - I was given that for pain after ankle surgery and one pill kept me awake for 48 hours. I threw the rest of it away and switched to Tylenol and was fine. Everyone reacts differently to meds. Good luck with your procedure.

I had a MRI several years ago. Due to claustrophobia, they had me take Valium 5 mg when I left home to drive in for the scan and maybe to take another 5 mg when I got to the hospital. Well, I got to the hospital, was starting to feel the relaxation kick in but also was still apprehensive so I took the other 5 mg. Well.....let me just say that my coworkers got a huge kick our of me afterwards. I went to my unit to wait for DH to come and get me and I was very loopy, not a care in the world, quite different than my normal persona, and very entertaining for my coworkers. I just remember being very relaxed without a care in the world.

Xanax is a metabolite of Valium so it's shorter acting but it's surprising that one made you nauseated and the other did not.

I also had Tramadol once, and never again will I even consider taking it. It was prescribed following a dental procedure and I was SO sick for 2 days after taking it, I couldn't believe it. It did zero for my pain, it brought on so much additional pain I forgot all about the initial pain lol. I will spare you all the details, but it was NOT good at all

Jenn, I have no advice but I can't resist commenting about the title of your thread. I think Houzz really needs to do something about the font. The "L" and "I" are virtually indistinguishable (at least for me).

Hope your surgery goes well.

(Houzz really needs to do a lot of things lololol)

I know, d_gw - I noticed that too. Those letters look odd and indistinguishable when viewed on my phone, but on my desktop they look fine.

Before my first MRI they told me to take a valium. It was horrible. It did nothing to make me less anxious, but I did feel that if I needed to get out of there for some reason I would be too lax-muscled to be able to do so speedily.

OT MRI advice given me by someone who'd had dozens: close your eyes before you go in and just don't open them for any reason till they slide you out again. Works much better than valium.

After reading the comments following mine, I wonder if I got the name Tramadol correct. Whatever it was, I only felt a little sleepy. The one they gave me after my meniscus repair was awful. I remember feeling nauseous, dizzy and generally awful and watching the clock waiting for it to wear off. I need to verify those before I am given anything again.

Ida, if your extraction is going to be more involved than average, I'd favor the sedation. It will go quicker, your jaw will be more relaxed and I think you may ache less when it is done.

But I hate dental work (had an awful dentist when I was young and have paid the price since) and I can tense up and cause more neck problems for myself. I wouldn't mind pressure, but I'd be thinking too much about what was going on. Whatever you chose, I hope it goes smoothly for you.

I would choose the anesthesia method recommended/preferred by my surgeon. I know you said he gave you options, but what is his default for such a procedure? (I know it’s not general anesthesia!) If it’s IV sedation, are you hesitant? If so, why?

I had 5 teeth, in all parts of my mouth, pulled at one time. I opted for the iv sedation. Wonderful. I wasn't totally out of it as I did feel some pressure on one tooth that gave him a particularly bad time. But otherwise don't remember anything else.

April thanks for the correction on lorazepam. I was remembering incorrectly I guess.

One thing that I noticed as a side effect of valium is it gave me bad dreams. But I loved the anxiety reduction in my waking state.

Ida I would guess your surgeon has headphones and music to disguise noises. I also told mine I didn’t want any details about the procedures unless I needed to make decisions about them. And I always close my eyes so I can’t see needles or other equipment.

I was given Valium prior to my Lasix surgery several years ago. I was relaxed but not overly so during the procedure that morning. Afterwards I was to rest for the next 4-6 hours. Since I had the procedures at a clinic 2 hours from home, DH and I had a hotel for the night. We checked in and I immediately crashed for about 2 hours. Woke up to minimal eye irritation (normal for this procedure for a few hours), then it went away in another hour or two. We went to dinner with our son and DIL and I felt great.

Yes, I should have mentioned that when I had my wisdom teeth done, I also had a little bone tumor removed from my jaw, so it was IV sedation for me, like it or not.

I just about had time to say, "Gee, this stuff works fa…" before I was totally out. Woke up after the procedure and was able to drive myself home. It was great.

Lorazepam is the generic for Ativan. That is what I'm prescribed before scans, medical/dental proccedures and for a period of time for anxiety/panic attacks. I tolerate it quite well.

I've had IV sedation before, and don't like the feeling of not remembering anything going on around me when I come to.

My only association with Ativan is that that's what two women - mother and daughter - were taking along with copious quantities of red wine, while seated next to me on the red-eye to London in March. At first when I learned they'd be my seatmates, I was happy. I thought, yay! Another mother/daughter traveling team. My mother and niece were traveling with me, although we were unable to be seated together so they were on another row. As the flight progressed, the duo proceeded to pill-pop and swig the booze, becoming increasingly loud and obnoxious. I knew they were on Ativan because they couldn't seem to stop yakking about it. At one point a few hours into the flight I had to crawl over them and seek out a flight attendant to intervene. I asked to be moved (the daughter was making loud profane and racist comments and braying like a mule -- and I'm no delicate flower by any means, but even I was offended). The flight crew was unable to seat me elsewhere due to a full flight, so I had to endure. I told an attendant that the duo had been overserved wine, and she said, "Oh, dear. Well, they've just ordered another round, but we'll cut them off after this one." (Um, WHAT?!? AFTER this one?!? I've since lodged a complaint with United Airlines, and as I suspected would happen, I've received not so much as a canned response.) A flight attendant did ask them to keep it down, saying they had received complaints from other passengers, and from that point on, the daughter proceeded to spew the phrase "anal whore!" in my direction numerous times. Honestly - it's ALMOST laughable now, but that was without question the worst flight of my life.

I completely digress -- but that's my one and only Ativan story! ;-)

I had wisdom teeth extracted under nothing but local (3 teeth total over two visits 5 years apart) and had no issues. The second time, the doc wanted to put me under, but I opted for local. It ended up taking all of 30 seconds. Unless you get particularly stressed out by dental procedures, I don't think you need anything extra for the extraction.

My daughter had to have a tooth extracted at age 5 (she fell and cracked her front baby tooth up to the gum), and they used laughing gas. That went remarkably well.

I haven't had implants, so I can't speak to whether it would be needed there.

Edited to complete an unfinished sentence. I think I got interrupted while I was writing my post.

I've had valium in the past as a pre-procedure sedative - worked nicely, no problems. I'm not opposed to any of that kind of thing though. I'd say if you don't like the feeling nitrous gives you, you wouldn't like valium either as it's quite similar. I prefer not having a mask over my nose though.

I had Valium for a four-tooth (wisdom tooth) extraction. This was many years ago, over 20, so my memory may be failing me but it seems to me they put it in my IV. Whatever it was, I loved it because I did not care at all what they were doing to me. I was perfectly lucid but I know had I not had the Valium I would’ve felt a little differently when they busted out the power tools.

My husband got Ativan for his laser eye surgery and he loved that. Although they had him swallow it before he signed for the bill, haha.

the only drug I’ve had a negative reaction to is fentanyl, for some reason it brings on the projectile vomiting in me. I told my husband he won’t have to worry about me and opiate addiction.

Maybe I had an extraordinary experience with my implant (upper front tooth) or an extraordinary surgeon, but whatever I was given by him at the beginning of the surgery rendered the procedure completely pain free. I did take advantage of a pain medication prescription for afterward, but even that was not a problem. I drove my self to and home from the surgery. I believe I only took enough pain medication to get me through the night. Believe me, I am not a stalwart. I do not suffer pain gladly. I hope it goes as well for you!

I would go the anesthesia route because it's not like getting knocked out for a major surgery.

Here's my only experience with oral surgery. My dentist pulled a back molar but couldn't get the roots out, and the tooth on the other side of my mouth needed to come out also. Far back teeth so I didn't need an implant. So I had to get the work finished at the oral surgeon's office. I was dreading it.

When I got to the surgeon's office they led me to a room with a dental chair. Nothing else looked like a dentist office except for the chair. It was actually a nice room! The nurses gave me an iv in my hand, and an hour later I woke up in the same chair with all the work done. I couldn't believe it! I was groggy but it went away by evening.

I hate the after effects of anesthesia but this was different and I was completely knocked out.

Bone has no direct innervation. The sensation of having a tooth pulled comes from the nerve inside the tooth and the ligament around the tooth. On the surface, pain is transmitted by the periosteum underneath the gum.

One the gum was pulled back to expose the bone, you could drill holes in it all day long and you would not feel anything even without anesthesia. Unless you get close to the nerve that supplies the lower teeth. In fact, it is recommended you not do "block" anesthesia on the mandible so you can feel pressure if the implant placement gets close to the nerve.

In any case, much of this is changing as more people plan their implants virtually using a digital CT scan and make surgical guides to make implant placement more exacting.

I think what is more important than how you manage pain during a procedure, is having a really good dentist or oral surgeon.

I had a root canal done back in 2010 in Florida and the procedure was several hours over 2 day and it wasn't done correctly. Last year I had a root canal done here in LA and the difference was amazing. All high tech stuff, took barely an hour and no pain or discomfort. A few months ago I went to them to fix the root canal from 2010. The Doctor kept muttering about the strange things the FL Doctor did. Pain is finally gone from that tooth.

Sometimes you don't know you have a bad dentist until you have to switch for some reason and then the differences are very obvious.

I was given valium for a procedure and it did not really make me feel as calm as I might have liked it to. Ativan (lorazepam) worked much better. It is interesting how Valium, Xanax and Ativan all affect people differently. I would take the valium several nights prior and if does not make you sleepy and calm then ask for Ativan. Just a thought.

On another note, I had an impacted wisdom tooth removed with only the numbing shot once. He had to crack into my sinus cavity and it was over so quick and I had zero pain or problems. Granted your procedure is different. I would definitely take something.

There is no reason to sit in anxiety while someone works in your mouth if you can take a simple pill to alleviate it.

Valium (diazepam) has a long duration of action. For a shorter duration of action/effects (e.g., for dental work), I prefer alprazolam (Xanax).

Interesting experiences and just to prove that one size does NOT fit all. Xanax, to me, has the same effect as popping a Tic Tac. Valium relaxed me, but not the extent as other's here. More like a good stiff drink.

I've had (as have all my kids) IV sedation. We all just went to sleep (not really, but that's the effect) and then woke up when it was over and said goofy things. YOU WILL NEED A RIDE. I've also had just numbing and gas for a root canal and while there was no pain, it was a very VERY long day. Do not recommend it.

I know that the waiting sucks...I wish there was a way around that. Good luck. And don't forget that nobody gives you a medal for this so you may as well take the easiest (for you) route... Don't forget to get all you need in the house before hand, if anything.