Laughing Gas At The Dentist

I'm in the process of getting a crown, after the painful process of a root canal. It is no secret to those who know me that I hate going to the dentist. I think it all stems from having very painful experiences as a kid, and since we were poor, the visits were far & few in between. I was one of the kids in my family that didn't have "good teeth." One of my dentists explained once that my teeth were not as hard as some. I'm not sure if that is genetic or environmental. Thus, when I went to the dentist, there were always lots of cavities to fill, and my childhood dentist was not too gentle. Once I was old enough to pay my own bills, I chose his competitor, to the consternation of my family, as my previous dentist was my dad's friend. He (the new dentist) was gentler and used gas. He also did really good work, albeit a little more expensively.

After I moved to another part of the state, I found another dentist, whom I went to for a number of years. He was nice, and most importantly, he used gas. I needed gas to relax me so that I could handle the novacaine, which I usually need in multiple dosages. Then, for convenience sake when I was doing daycare, plus an insurance/billing snafu and an enormous amount of unexpected dental bills (long story), I switched dentists to one that was located right in my town, so I wouldn't have to take huge amounts of time off to go to the dentist. I like him. He's nice and very open about charges & billing, so I never have surprises at the end. Once, when the work done went over my insured amount, he knocked the extra amount off as a professional courtesy. I've stayed with him ever since, even when he closed his office and moved to a nearby city.

The only issue I have with this dentist is he doesn't routinely use gas. I get so tense when I am being worked on, and absolutely hate the administration of novacaine. The gas would be relaxing. I asked about it recently and found they do have it, they just don't use it much because insurance won't cover it. I'm not sure if that is something more recent, as I used to get it years ago. I probably should have asked what the cost would be if I paid for it out of my pocket, since it takes me almost to the end of the work being done before I can will myself to unclench my fists and relax my rigid body. I sometimes think I just have a low tolerance for pain, but the dental assistant assured me I handle it far better than some. Maybe that is because I restrain myself and I don't lash out at how I'm really feeling.

However, as I was surfing various webs and blogs, I found a video of a child coming down from "laughing gas" after a dental procedure. Perhaps I'll pass on the gas, after all!

Kid on Laughing Gas