[pedestrian]

Im 10 months in with PCS have daily severe headaches at back and front of head and have whiplash. My neck still causes me a lot of pain and is still very tender and the muscles are very tight all the way down my back.

Ive been noticing the past few weeks that i need to make an appointment with the dentist, I'm pretty sure i have a cavity or two on one side. But I'm really scared. I dont know if i can handle an appointment. Its most definitely going to aggravate my neck symptoms and going to make my headaches worse.

Then once they confirm the cavities while i be able to handle the drilling? Im pretty sure the sensation will set me off as well as the noise.

Has anyone had experience with this yet? What did you do to minimize backlash? Can you go under for cavity refills?

Thanks for your input!!

[Bruins88]

Ive been to the dentist since, told them of my issues, and they were cautious. Theydecided not to floss me as it wouldve been not so much fun for me.

Not sure if I was just lucky or not, but my dentist also has a history of concussions he said so he understood.

[Mark in Idaho]

You can have laughing gas to relieve your tension. Nitrous oxide works well. My wife has them use it. I'd try without first. There is no reason a routine dental appointment and treatment will cause any problems.

[pedestrian]

thanks for the feedback! You guys are helping relieve some of my fears. I'm always so anxious now about setting my symptoms off

["Starr"]

I was worried the first time I went for my regular check up after my injury too, but it turned out not to be a big deal.

I did ask them not to recline the chair all the way back and have my head lower than my butt though and they had no problem with that. (Anytime my head gets lower than my butt my head pain increases dramatically!)

I've not had any real cavities, but I did have a filling replaced and they did fill a couple grooves in my teeth that were getting deeper than they like (I always think they are just a cash grab ) so they did drill and stuff.

I always just planned to go home and crawl into bed and sleep for a while, just like I do after most outings and it worked out ok.

So go and get your teeth looked after. Don't let the cavities turn into abscessed teeth, that can cause you more problems and of course the need for root canals. Catch the problems early!

Good luck!
Starr

[willgardner]

The check-up induced some headache/facial pain. It went away in a few days. I have not been able to receive any dental treatments as opening my mouth will cause a severe migraine. Also, I cannot handle vibrations(even talking loud is difficult) so I cannot handle the dental equipments yet. I try not to think about my dental issues, but let me just say this: PCS is annoying...

[Estreetfan]

I had some broken teeth that had to be repaired post-accident. and whiplash along with the head injury

My dentist had me take Advil before the appts,. used a neck pillow to support my neck and only tilted the chair back when she absolutely had to ( and never had my head lower that my body) I wore earplugs to cancel out the whining drill and dark glasses for the light. I took the Advil for 3 days afterwards and I did better than I thought I would considering that I had a root canal and bridgework prep done.

The drill vibration was uncomfortable but they only drilled for a short time and then would check to see how I was doing.

So I would make sure your dentist knows ahead of time what kinds of concerns you will have and then you can work out a plan together.