I Hate the Dentist

Back in May I declared to myself that this would be the summer of trips and teeth. Meaning if we found ourselves eating ramen twice a day this summer it would be because we spent the rest of our money on trips and teeth.

Embarrassingly enough, Dan and I had not been to the dentist in far too long. Of course, Dan's pearly whites needed a good cleaning but he had no cavities. Me on the other hand, I had 5 cavities and was told I needed a crown on my fake front tooth. Also, Luke's visit to the dentist, revealed some cavities that needed filling as well as fixing up his broken front tooth. Ava still needs a visit to the dentist as well.

I had my appointment scheduled for my cavities for the middle of July. Thank goodness they had a cancellation and moved me up to this past week because it turns out that in the middle of July both my parents and Dan would be out of town which would have meant that the crazy dentist appointment would have come while I was flying solo.

Looking back on it now, I still don't know exactly what happened. There are a couple of possibilities, but I'm not sure we'll know, at least until I go back to the dentist next month. And no, I am not looking forward to it. It was either me or the epinephrine or the combination of the two.

I have written on this blog previously, that I don't do well with needles, blood, medical procedures, and the like. But in my recent past I have really turned a corner. In fact I credited Target (the link is worth a read to get the most from this post). So what happened after the Novocaine shot was almost totally unexpected. I certainly did not enjoy the three giant shots the dentist pushed into my gums. But he finished, left me alone to numb-up, and I was employing all manner of positive thinking and self-talk to keep myself calm.

I have survived many IV's and blood draws without incidence. I managed natural childbirth. I can do this. I can do this. No big deal.

I continued with these thoughts and was feeling confident that I could keep my cool. Then, after a few minutes, though very suddenly, I started to tingle every where. I knew the blood was leaving my extremities, I started sweating, and my eyes went black. I could feel myself losing consciousness and I also knew that because my chair was in the upright position, it would only be a matter of seconds until I hit the floor. I somehow screamed out a "help".

Next thing I know, I'm laid back, the dentist is there asking me if I'm okay, a lady is taking my blood pressure, and I'm breathing oxygen through the mask. The dentist asked me if my heart was racing. I told him I had no idea. All I knew was that I felt like I would pass out. Apparently the Novacaine contains epinephrine which can cause your heart to race and other similar reactions.

My blood pressure was ridiculously low and remained that way for a while. The dentist gave me the option of continuing on with the procedure or rescheduling. There was no way that I got those three heinous shots just to leave, so I told him we'd keep going and I'd like to buy the laughing gas, please. He told me he'd give it to me for free.

As I entered my altered state, he worked quickly. My blood pressure stayed low. He kept working, and as he did so, I came to the conclusion that in my long abscence from the dentist I must have forgotten how imperative it is for me to always have the gas.

The dentist finished up and told me this was the most exciting day they'd had in the office for a long time.

I go back in a month for the crown and I don't know what my plan should be. But I am really, really hoping we don't have a repeat performance. Luke's appointment is this week and we'll see how that goes. Hopefully, I passed to him the propensity for cavities only and not the predisposition to be a freaker or a fainter.