Have any obese people been sedated at the dentist?

LatoyasTime

I am significantly obese at around 350 lbs and will be getting all my wisdom teeth removed under deep sedation in a couple weeks. The oral surgeon who was originally supposed to do the procedure opted not to when he found out my BMI so they scheduled me with a different doctor who is apparently willing to do it. When they called me to reschedule me they didn’t go into much detail about what exactly the risks were in working on me so I did some Googling about the risks of obese people being sedated. I’m kinda freaking out now. If I didn’t have such an intense fear of the dentist I would be fine with doing local anesthetic instead but I really want to be as relaxed and checked out as possible during the procedure. Has anyone who is significantly overweight been sedated? How did it go?

KrissFlavored

I had to be put under to have my gallbladder removed years ago, I was about 250lbs tho.

I gained to 300 after the surgery however I have no experience being heavier then that.

I do know that it can be risky with the extra body weight, but there are a lot of people out there who have been sedated who are much heavier then you for shows like my 600lbs life and they have come through fine.

I feel like the worst case scenarios are always for people with sever health conditions tagged along with their obesity. The dentist who refused may of just felt uneasy because of potential health problems you may of had..

But again I am just making a guess.

lgfrie

I was 330 pounds in 2016 when I had ACDF (cervical spine) surgery. They did make a stink about risks at my BMI level, but I did need the surgery so they did it anyway. The whole event was awkward, especially when they were putting me under but couldn't move my huge girth from my pre-op bed-type-thing to the actual surgical bed, so they asked me in my 3/4-sedated state to see if I could kind of haul myself over, which I did. Anyway, I got through it all, as evidence by my writing this. The cool part was, since I was so big, they gave me an extra-strong percocet drip for my hospital overnight, which made the entire experience worthwhile. I was clicking on that thing continuously until the sun came up in the morning. Ah, good times. Anyway, it's rare to have complications from anesthesia, and as my doc said at the time, everything in life has risks and you just do what you gotta do. You'll get through it.

Zimm7

lgfrie wrote: »

they gave me an extra-strong percocet drip for my hospital overnight, which made the entire experience worthwhile. I was clicking on that thing continuously until the sun came up in the morning. Ah, good times.

Yup. Hospitals have the best drugs. 👍

Diatonic12

A 'horse doctor' yanked all 4 of mine out on the same day with a shot of novacaine. I had to drive myself home, 80 miles, so anything stronger was out the question. I've watched those videos of teenagers coming out from under sedation after their trip to the dentist. I've not witnessed anything like that with those around me. We don't have oral surgeons, just dentists and horse doctors who have enough strength to remove equine teeth. I didn't have stitches but I do remember that popcorn caused problems so I had to avoid it.

Lietchi

I had Xanax before having one wisdom tooth removed under local anesthetic. I was very nervous beforehand, but on the day the Xanax really did its job!

Four is more than me, but on the other hand, my tooth was horizontally impacted and still fully underneath my gums (so the most invasive procedure possible for a wisdom tooth!).

It's not one of my most pleasant memories but I'm quite happy that I chose a local anesthetic and asked for a Xanax.

kimny72

I had local plus laughing gas to get one wisdom tooth pulled, and my biggest takeaway is that I do not understand why laughing gas isn't used for any and all dental procedures, even cleanings

I don't have a relevant experience to share OP, just wishing you good luck with your procedure and bumping your post :flowerforyou:

yirara

Don't use laughing gas, or nitrous oxide when you have or suspect you might have a vitamin B12 deficiency as it oxidizes all active B12 stored in the body. Considering how poorly treatment of b12 deficiency is, especially in the US and UK, this might result in further nerve damage.

kimny72

yirara wrote: »

Don't use laughing gas, or nitrous oxide when you have or suspect you might have a vitamin B12 deficiency as it oxidizes all active B12 stored in the body. Considering how poorly treatment of b12 deficiency is, especially in the US and UK, this might result in further nerve damage.

I don't want to hijack the OP's thread, but my understanding is that is a danger of nitrous oxide abuse, not from occasionally getting a measured and monitored dose by a medical professional.

yirara

kimny72 wrote: »

yirara wrote: »

Don't use laughing gas, or nitrous oxide when you have or suspect you might have a vitamin B12 deficiency as it oxidizes all active B12 stored in the body. Considering how poorly treatment of b12 deficiency is, especially in the US and UK, this might result in further nerve damage.

I don't want to hijack the OP's thread, but my understanding is that is a danger of nitrous oxide abuse, not from occasionally getting a measured and monitored dose by a medical professional.

Ok, this is very offtopic. If you have stored enough B12 and can easily store more a one off is not much of a problem. But if your stores of active B12 are already close to empty then this is a massive problem. There even seems to be a connected between B12d, getting 'air and gas' during child birth and postnatal depression.

ExistingFish

kimny72 wrote: »

I had local plus laughing gas to get one wisdom tooth pulled, and my biggest takeaway is that I do not understand why laughing gas isn't used for any and all dental procedures, even cleanings

I don't have a relevant experience to share OP, just wishing you good luck with your procedure and bumping your post :flowerforyou:

Laughing gas can be used for cleanings if you want to pay for it. I had very bad dental anxiety and for years I had to have the gas for cleaning or I couldn't get my teeth cleaned.

My experience with wisdom teeth removal probably isn't relative either. I was 15 and a normal weight. The oral surgeon said I would have it far easier than the 21-year-old army guy in the next room, simply because I was 15 and he was 21. So unless you can hop in a time machine, you won't have the benefit of being 15 I had.

I had deep/IV sedation. I don't remember much that day except the shot they gave me in the bum for nausea when I woke up and being mad at my sisters when I got home because they'd started my rented VHS tapes without me. Not that was conscious enough to follow a storyline.

girlwithcurls2

I had mine out 35 years ago, but using only laughing gas and Novocaine. I had the guy shut the gas off because I felt too loopy, so just the local. My three kids all had an IV sedation, but it was not deep sedation. The oral surgeon said it was just enough to get them under. I was wide awake for the whole thing (all 4 at once). If you can manage that, my other trick for dental appointments longer than a cleaning, is to listen to a podcast or music. My dentist has never objected. In fact, she said that whatever makes me more relaxed and comfortable, she's OK with. I did have to warn her that I might laugh though, since I didn't want to listen to anything serious!

peggy_polenta

while i understand if you have anxiety, if it helps to know, once they give you the local, you really can't feel anything but a lot of pressure. its not painful. i had to have mine broken in pieces so they could remove them in a surgeon's office and beside the pressure and the pulling on my face to get the tools in, i didn't feel a thing. even the post pain was not terrible. hope that eases some stress.

New_Heavens_Earth

Mu friend was refused an outpatient procedure due to morbid obesity and sedation risk. She was about 300 lbs at 4 foot 11 at the time.

I had all 4 wisdom teeth removed at once with light sedation (no pain, I got a lot of numbing, very loopy, but aware of what was happening) at 208 lbs and 5 foot 3.

ruqayyahsmum

My heaviest surgery was at 387lb with blood pressure at heart rate through the roof
They gave me some sedation hoping to calm me down and my numbers settle..... Didnt work, my heart rate always ran that fast back then

Coming round was fun, I woke up screaming (pain) and anethatist didn't want me to have pain meds due to my increased risk of chest infection. The nurses got sick of me screaming and gave it anyway

My last few surgeries at various levels of obesity have required me to stay in hospital because I end up with my oxygen levels dipping likely because I'm not able to breathe deeply enough, was 198 last time it happened

ruqayyahsmum

yirara wrote: »

Don't use laughing gas, or nitrous oxide when you have or suspect you might have a vitamin B12 deficiency as it oxidizes all active B12 stored in the body. Considering how poorly treatment of b12 deficiency is, especially in the US and UK, this might result in further nerve damage.

Really?
I have pernicious anaemia and they've given me it several times, last time was the birth of my son, was on it for hours...... Became so ill in the weeks after I ended up in hospital 10 miles away from the one my son was in 🤦🏻‍♀️

skinnyjingbb

Is sedation necessary? Depends on your condition, your level of pain tolerance and anxiety, I would discuss with your doctor. All I got are local anesthesia injections when I had all four wisdom teeth removed at once. Because they didn't actually grew out properly, so the surgeon cut my gum open to remove them. It was uncomfortable to have my mouth opened for so long and I did get additional shot of anesthesia on one side mid surgery when I started to feel some discomfort. It was not too bad overall. I was proscribed pain killer afterword, didn't need to take it at all.

Xellercin

These are questions for the doctors/dentists involve. It is their legal obligation to get informed consent from you for the treatment, meaning it's their legal obligation to INFORM you. If you just agree, you are saying that you understand what the risks are. Don't let them off the hook so easily, it's their obligation to make sure that you have enough information to make a responsible decision for yourself.

You need to be able to balance the pros and cons of doing this procedure with or without sedation. If you don't feel informed enough to make that decision, they have not met their legal obligation.

My advice? Put your questions in writing and ask for their answers to be be in writing.

Lietchi

This is a bit of a zombie thread: OP posted in May 2020, I hope she had her surgery already 🙂

ReenieHJ

Lietchi wrote: »

This is a bit of a zombie thread: OP posted in May 2020, I hope she had her surgery already 🙂

I know, I was kinda hoping for an update.

kshama2001

I was going to suggest asking for Xanax, but am intrigued by the idea of laughing gas.

Hope all went well for the OP!