Had my dentist appointment. Got told to 'breathe' quite often. Next appointment he gave me Xanax..

[WillParkinson]

I've never taken them nor do I know anyone who has. What should I expect?

I need to take one the evening before and 2 an hour before the procedure. He's also going to have nitrous oxide handy.

I think it's his way of telling me I'm a basket case.

[Bertha Venation]

1. They're calming.

They might make you drowsy, too. I think it's a smart dentist. The xanax will probably help you.

Good luck!

[WillParkinson]

2. He obviously does not care about MY needs...

I asked him for a baseball back upside the head. I told him it was the best way to keep me compliant. He refused.

[2Design]

3. just do the nitrous oxide - it has a start and stop where you have no

idea how long xanax will last - I always use nitrous with dentist even for cleaning

[Deep13]

4. You should expect a relaxing and enjoyable day.

The first time I had implant surgery, they gave me Halcion. I was in lah-lah land for the whole procedure.

[REP]

7. Lucky you :-)

Then again, I'm prescribed anxiolytics, so I don't get a high from them.

[IcyPeas]

5. I have had the same experience at dentist...

I was having a root canal done and it was horrendous and I had a slight panic attack - started crying and breathing got f'd up so he had to stop and I had to go the the ladies room where I stayed, crying and breathing for about 15 minutes until I could pull myself together and the hygienist even came in to see if I was alright. He also prescribed me something for my next visit (not xanax, but one of those kind of things).

WE ARE NOT BASKET CASES.

[REP]

6. My husband's jaw literally cannot be numbed; has to be drilled "live"

Last time he went in, he needed two fillings and an erupted wisdom tooth extracted on his jaw. We have the same dentist and oral surgeon, and they're terrific - the extraction didn't hurt at all and he made it through the fillings, but they'd never seen someone who could not be numbed at all before. Needless to say, he's scared shitless of dentists and needs Xanax and Ativan to get in the chair. (My dentist doesn't do nitrous.)

[MilesColtrane]

8. I once had a tooth filled without novacaine.

Ever since then, I LOVE the needle.

[Kat45]

10. When I was little I had many teeth filled without novocaine.

When I became an adult and was on my own, it was a number of years before I went to the dentist again.

[LisaL]

12. Me too. No pain meds of any kind.

[REP]

13. He'd love the needle if it worked - it's rare, but some people can't be numbed

I'm difficult to numb and it wears off quickly, but at least it works! Good thing - I have bad teeth. His teeth are good, lucky for him for a lot of reasons!

[tinkerbell41]

9. Could be the Epinephrin it simulates attack symptoms.

I am not sure I spelled it right. I cannot have regular novocaine it makes me panic. I remind my dentist constantly. I had an oral surgeon who gave it to me after I told him no way no how, he gave it to me anyway and I had a complete freak out!! It really scared me because I wondered WTF happened since he didn't give me it. Well, he fessed up needless to say I won't be back!
Xanax is immediate relief, calming, doesn't make you loopy.

[LisaL]

11. I tried xanax. It did help with anxiety.

My cat also was put on xanax for anxiety, LOL.

[RandomThoughts]

14. Don't worry about being a basket case.

In the best episode of Star Trek, after removing filters, "The Omega Glory"

The baskets were behind Kirk when he was fighting.

[Rob H.]

15. I ask for nitrous if I'm having any work done

The last time was for a filling and a crown during the same visit, on two teeth right next to each other. It took 4 shots to numb the area, iirc, but the nitrous made me a LOT less anxious and they started the gas before the Novocaine. I think it even surprised the dentist because he kept asking, "Are you sure you don't want to take a break for a few minutes?" and I nodded "Yes" every time. (I just wanted to get it over with, truth be told.)

What I like about the nitrous is that it wears off (for me) really quickly once they turn it off. It took a little over three hours for the shots to wear off completely.