Is nitrous oxide at the dentist worth the cost?
nthing go with the nitrous (although your dentist does seem to charge a lot for it). I am a non-apologetic dental procedure wimp (bad, bad history). I have nitrous for everything, cleanings included. In fact, nobody is allowed to touch my mouth until I’m under the influence…on the front of my chart, in large, bold black sharpie it says ‘use nitrous.’ The years of bad experiences with dentists left me so anxious about dental work I actually put the tips of my fingers through the vinyl arms of an exam chair once. My current dentist, bless him & all his little elves, worked with me to make sure I feel *nothing* remotely related to pain when he works on my mouth. Nitrous helps enormously…it’s not that you’re so out of it you don’t know what is going on, but the world becomes wrapped in cotton wool and floaty, so you can take a disinterested view of what’s happening. I’m so acclimated to the nitrous now that I go on a mental vacation as soon as the mask goes on, and nobody bothers to ta
Don’t do what the straightener suggests. That is a really bad and dangerous idea. It also won’t really give you an accurate impression of what having nitrous at the dentist is like. Go with the nitrous. It will greatly reduce your anxiety. I have only had it once, and it made the dental work much less stressful. I also freak out at the dentist – once, everyone in the waiting room left, I was hollering so much. The time with the nitrous was extremely easy and smooth. I was still nervous, until it kicked in. Some insurance cos. will cover the cost partially, so if you have dental insurance you could check on that. You could also ask your dentist about prescribing an anti-anxiety medication for the day of the treatment. Many will give you one dose of Valium or something similar, which also makes it much, much easier to go through the necessary evil that is a dental procedure. Just make sure you have someone to drive or bring you home, or that you can take public transport, if you go with
