Hi Siobhan,
Regarding discussing the topic of anesthetics with the oral surgeon.... simply say you want to avoid anesthetics that contain preservatives as you prefer not to put them in your body. He may say that all anesthetics have preservatives as a way to override your request thinking that you do not know any different. Simply hand him the information that I gave to you and let him know that you understand he may be accustomed to using a certain anesthetic but you would like him to abide by your request and use something less likely to cause you an adverse reaction. He may also tell you that he has to use at least some epinephrine in order to perform the surgery because if the bleeding is too great, he will not be able to see what he's doing and because it may be necessary to keep you profoundly numb during the procedure, both of which are totally truthful. If you emphatically tell him NO he cannot use any epinephrine he can refuse to treat you.
It's important that you keep in mind that there are many other significant factors that go into giving a dental injection of a local anesthetic which are just as important as the medication that is used in that injection. These factors are basically not in your control as they include the deliverance of the injection itself. One thing you can request of him is that he give the injection slowly rather than quickly to help avoid unnecessary trauma to that area and beyond. He may look at you funny for knowing about that... but just nicely tell him I have had injections given both ways and I do much better if it is given slowly.
So if I understand you correctly, you had a root canaled front tooth extracted and there is a residual infection and cyst remaining? Did your general dentist remove this tooth? What is in place of this tooth now?
It is not unusual for a dentist or other who is well trained in radiology to be able to see these type of cysts on routine dental xrays. Unfortunately, general dentists frequently miss these areas compared to an oral surgeon. Any chance you could post the xray here or private message me with an attachment?
Regarding the CT scan.. the advantage to having it is that it will show the exact location, size and depth of the cyst because the CT gives various slices or dimensions of the area as compared to a dental xray which only gives a 2 dimensional view.
Bryanna
Quote:
Originally Posted by Siobhan
Thanks Bryanna! That site seems like a wealth of information, thank you, will look at other things too. From those 4 on the list, looks like the best option is the first one - the combination of anesthetics without epi and without sulphites? Problem is, how do I approach this topic with the surgeon?
Yes, the cyst(?) might be related to an already extracted infected (previously root canaled) tooth, but to me it feels like it is high up, a little higher than the end of the root. Does that make sense?? The extraction went well, but now, some months later, I can feel "something" there (even though my dentist cannot). I also feel weird "cold"(?) symptoms on/off like some other posters, suggesting to me that this may be a remnant infection high up in the maxilla. Surgeon suggested an open exploration (no tests) or plain xray of the area, or CT. You can probably see that I am extremely reluctant about the CT, esp that he suggested surgery even without scans (he said it was pretty obvious to him). So if he is so certain, why go through all that radiation. It's a front tooth, with this "cyst" located almost under my nostril, so easy access for him. He does have my panorex already.
What are your thoughts on this? Should people always get a CT prior to having procedures of this kind?
Should I worry about him taking the culture and antibiotics rx before the culture?
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