Pots And Dental Treatment

[Guest Alex]

here is a one page doc written by a dentist with POTS on special considerations that may be in order when going for dental treatments

www.dysautonomiasos.com/#!dentistry-and-pots-/c1fzj

one thing that I would add to the 'list':

- s l o w l y move the chair to an upright position to allow for the patient's HR to gradually adjust (it may otherwise feel similar to a TTT)

Alex

[Mydoggielovesme2]

Thank you for posting this. Will look up as soon as I log off the forum. I am so afraid of the dentist since getting POTS. Several bad experiences. Hope this has some helpful info, really need to get to the dentist again.

[Guest Alex]

Shona, there is also a lengthier article about dental treatment for POTS-ies

here is a link to that http://www.cfids-cab.org/rc/Brooks.pdf

The above guide though is much more condensed and to the point, plus it's written by a dentist with POTS - that should be a plus.

For what it's worth I too am really afraid of dentists. Bad experiences in the past

Good luck!

Alex

[Auntwinnie]

I read the article but I don't have ardicsl background so some of it I was unsure of. A few years ago I had a really bad experience at the dentist. The first time when the dentist gave me the local for a filling I felt a little off but didn't say anything. The next time as the anesthetic hit my blood steam I started to pass out. They sat me up and the dentist assumed that the anesthetic hit my talangelactasias ( multiple blood vessels from my scleroderma). My rhumetologist didn't think it was that but perhaps I had an allergic reaction to the anesthetic. I only see the head dentist in my office now and he gives me only a little epinephrine and goes very slow as he does the anesthetic. Is this the type of issue that can be present with pots? I haven't had my vitals monitored at all at the dentist

[blueskies]

I've been seeing the same dentist for over 10 years and had lots of pretty major dental surgery. Together we have learned how to manage my visits. But I will copy and send him these papers as he's the sort of guy who is very kind and wants to understand his patients problems.

I haven't had a local injection containing adrenalin for 2 decades now. I worked out back then it was a big factor in my anxiety and dentists and recovery from dental work. I remember getting a shot with adrenalin from an earlier dentist who 'forgot' I didn't want it and feeling my heart feeling like it was going to beat out of my chest - fast. I had to get up and move around to deal with the tachy.

Nevertheless I'm still nervous at the dentist even given how good my dentist says I am as a patient. Now I have another problem. I am becoming more and more sensitive to the numbing injection. After each visit over the past year or two it has resulted in my skin getting redder and redder and now burning. It usually comes on a few hours after the injection. So -- a developing intolerance that could turn into an allergic type response. I'm getting used to these types of responses eventually occurring with a number of drugs/chemicals. Perhaps it eventually manifest as an allergy. I saw my allergist only last week and she's given me a regime to follow that involves anti-histamines and pretty large doses of cortisone. 25mgs prednisolone on the day prior to dental visit. 25mgs X 2 a day on the day of the injection. 25mgs (if it's enough)the following day. I am hoping this stops my body reacting to the injection.

blue

[Guest Alex]

From what I read, epinephrine is to be avoided in POTS patients as it can increase your heat rate and possibly make you faint (it happened to me), so I'd say that it's possible that you had a reaction to the analgesic in my non medical opinion.

In the event of future dental work you might want to ask your dentist to use anesthetic agents without epinephrine. You might want to even print a copy of the article or the guide and share it with your dentist. (My dentist has the long article from me, I only found the guide yesterday).

Best,

Alex

[Hope]

I don't do well with an epi. This year I have had a crown done, and a wisdom tooth removed with a local and no epi. The crown was painful, the nerve wouldn't numb, but the wisdom tooth went very smoothly.