Has anyone ever had the laughing gas sedative during a root canal?

Nitrous oxide? Yes, I have.

Did you feel any pain at all during the procedure? I am getting mixed emotions about the laughing gas sedative.

No, I was fine, no pain at all and a LOT less pain than the injections I have had in the past.

In fact, I remember none of the procedure.

WOWWW! You don't remember the procedure? LOL... Was it a root canal or extraction that you received?

Root canal but a bad one - first one went bad because the Dentist hadn't completely cleaned out the tooth. The infection (which was painful but not terrible until the end) had to be cleaned out and the procedure (to a large extent) repeated as well as damage to the bone repaired.

The problem was that my insurance would ONLY cover the injections but I had been through so much at that time that I was happy to pay the difference.

The needles in the roof of my mouth were beyond description!

Flossie is our expert. Let me see if I can find her.

It seems your experience was similar to mine. I had anesthesia shot into the roof of my mouth and into my gums but the drilling of the root canal still caused pain. Now a few people suggest that I try another root canal with laughing gas, but others say laughing gas doesn't help with pain.

So, while they were cleaning out the infection, you didn't feel anything? I am not sure if I have an infection. How can you tell when there's an infection?

I had the kind of pain where you consider shooting yourself, throbbing, a very swollen face, fever, eye swollen closed.

Now that you mention it I'm not certain that I didn't get a shot to the gum PLUS the gas - I KNOW there were no shots in the hinge of my jaw and/or the roof of my mouth.

Flossie? Where are you?

I'd ask the Dentist directly - see what his/her advice is.

I'd like to know what you do experience.

I had the kind of pain where you consider shooting yourself, throbbing, a very swollen face, fever, eye swollen closed.

Now that you mention it I'm not certain that I didn't get a shot to the gum PLUS the gas - I KNOW there were no shots in the hinge of my jaw and/or the roof of my mouth.

Flossie? Where are you?

I'd ask the Dentist directly - see what his/her advice is.

I'd like to know what you do experience.

You're right about consider shooting... I feel like life is not worth living with this pain. Based on your experience, I might just have the root canal finished with the laughing gas. Flossie informed me of the different sedatives but if I remember correctly, she said the laughing gas wouldn't help pain. Thanks for the advice!

Let's hope she comes along - if it doesn't help pain, I wonder what the point of it is - ?

This would appear to say that it is an anesthetic (which would cause you not to experience pain during the procedure) but maybe I'm not understanding it properly: "When nitrous oxide is inhaled as the only anesthetic drug, it is normally administered as a mixture with 30% gas and 70% oxygen.[21] The medical grade gas tanks, with the tradename Entonox and Nitronox contain a mixture with 50%, but this will normally be diluted to a lower percentage upon the operational dilevery to the patient. Inhalation of nitrous oxide is frequently used to relieve pain associated with childbirth, trauma, oral surgery, and heart attacks." Nitrous oxide - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrous_oxide)

Confused - ?

Exactly. That's why I get confused! Some say it helps pain, while others say otherwise.

See Flossie's response to me on another thread:


Laughing gas is VERY LIGHT. You should probably be trying a sedation that you take orally. The dentist can prescribe something you take the night before and then the morning of the procedure. Can't guarantee you won't feel any pain. The only one that can guarantee that would be the general anesthetic.

Well, after reading that I'm really confused. I would suggest that the Dentist hit you over the head with a mallet and THEN administer the laughing gas!

How can I tell if I have an infection?

Flossie informed me of the different sedatives but if I remember correctly, she said the laughing gas wouldn't help pain.
The laughing gas knocks you out enough so you are no longer aware of sensations. The dentist could pull out your fingernails, and you wouldn't react, yet when you "come to," there would be pain. He could instead clip your nails for you while you are "out," and you would have no residual pain.

When my son has had laughing gas, say for a difficult filling, the dentist numbs his gum(s) AFTER he begins to administer the gas. When Daniel returns to full consciousness, his mouth is still numb and will prevent any pain until he can get to the Advil or get a pain med prescription filled. There have been many times that, once the numbing agent has worn off, he has had no pain, so no need for Advil or a prescription med.

Everyone's tolerance for pain is different. So much depends on that and what the dentist finds and has to deal with when he works on a tooth.

How can I tell if I have an infection?
You might not be able to tell by looking. Is your gum swollen or red? NO? How about, does the tooth hurt when you eat or press down on it? Does this get worse day by day? Does Advil relieve the pain and swelling? Is there a sharp pain only when you eat or drink something cold? You have to do an exhaustive questioning of yourself, and then you still may not be sure.

Thanks WonderGirl... I'm still confused. You say you wouldn't react to the pain but "when you come to" there would be pain. What is "come to"? LOL... Excuse my ignorance please.

You might not be able to tell by looking. Is your gum swollen or red? NO? How about, does the tooth hurt when you eat or press down on it? Does this get worse day by day? Does Advil relieve the pain and swelling? Is there a sharp pain only when you eat or drink something cold? You have to do an exhaustive questioning of yourself, and then you still may not be sure.

My gum isn't swollen or red. I get pain when I eat just about anything, hot, cold, sweet. Some days it hurts horribly while some days I forget that it's there. Advil does relieve the pain, sometimes. And YES--A ridiculously sharp pain when I drink/eat cold food. Does it sound like an infection?

Thanks WonderGirl...I'm still confused. You say you wouldn't react to the pain but "when you come to" there would be pain. What is "come to"? LOL...Excuse my ignorance please.
When you are given laughing gas, you are aware of your surroundings but don't care. When you are no longer under the influence of laughing gas, you experience your surroundings as usual.

laughing gas = light
sedation = moderate
general anesthesia = total unconsciousness

OK guys. I've had general anesthesia in an OR at a hospital for 4 extractions.

I've had an extraction using nitrous.

I've had a root canal.

I've had an infection associated with an impant: Oral antibiotics. Cut open. Irrigate. New set of antibiotics. Infections you can see and sometimes taste.

OK that said.

Root canals start hurting hours after the procedure with just novocain. Little pain during the procedure, but tooth's nerves weren't compromised at that point even though it had been perforated.

You have pain before the procedure, so anything you can do to cal things down first will be good. e.g. infections are cleared up.

You ALWAYS medicate prior to the pain kicking in. You will require less medication overall.

Anxiety issues and pre medication can be handled with say Valium.

Nitrous isn't used alone. It's supplimental. As was pointed out, your aware of what's happening but your not really aware of the details. My tooth was a shell. It had decayed from the inside out.

So, when they were plucking little pieces out of my jaw and digging for them it wasn't painful. The gas wears off quickly and then you have the standard novocain to deal with.

Novocain comes in various formlations which affect how long it wears off.

So, it starts acheing when the Novocain wears off. Let's not use hurting.

So, you use the time just after the procedure to get the oral pain meds filled.

The recommended procedure for extractions is having lots of Neutrament purchased beforehand. No chocolate and no sugar.

Now, I've also had crown lengthing. The goal her is to prevent the pain from even starting, so it's ice every 20 minutes whether in pain or not and for the first few hours your keeping the wounds clean and removing blood.

Prevention of severe pain is big time better.

Here is an excellent website that will explain ALL about the different types of sedations available. It will definitely help you make a more educated decision.

Sedation Dentistry....Dental Sedation....Conscious Sedation....Relaxation Dentistry (http://www.qualitydentistry.com/dental/SedationDentistry/sedation.html)

You say the laughing gas wears off quickly. So, about how long does it last? One hour? Two hours?

As soon the dentist is near the end of the procedure he will start increasing the amount of oxygen you are getting until you are on pure oxygen. At this point, you will be feeling pretty much normal and can drive yourself home from your appointment. There will be no lingering effects.

OK... I have an appointment with another dentist who promises to numb me much better than the previous dentist did. Not sure that's going to work. Numbing didn't seem to be the problem. My tooth seemed to be! PLEASE pray that it works out this time! I'm so scared :(

And I will have the laughing gas... I hope it helps.

It sounds like you've got it covered. You'll let us know how it goes?

Yes I'll let you guys know. But, don't all dentists use the same anesthesia?

My dentist will rub my gum with his finger after he injects me with a very sharp needle. No other dentist ever did that. He will also rub a topical numbing goop on my gum before he gives me shots. I don't know (flossie will), but I think the dentist has a variety of anesthesias to choose from, depending on the patient and the pain threshold.

So, I finally had my root canal started today (the dentist found THREE canals!) and I was sedated with the laughing gas. During the procedure I was WELL relaxed! I felt no pain while they were performing but the minute they removed the oxygen mask, the tooth they were working on started aching. More than an hour later, I am still aching! It's not SOOO bad but it's aching. So, I guess the laughing gas does help with pain :)

I go back next week to complete the root canal.

Some Advil will help with the pain you have right now.

Thanks for the report. We always like to know what happened!

Did he give you shots of novacaine (or whatever they use nowadays)?

What is Novacaine? He did use shots, he injected something into my gums.

What is Novacaine? He did use shots, he injected something into my gums.
Flossie would give you a better explanation. It's a shot(s) to numb the gum around the tooth to be worked on. Usually the effect lasts for about three hours (I've timed it).

Flossie would give you a better explanation. It's a shot(s) to numb the gum around the tooth to be worked on. Usually the effect lasts for about three hours (I've timed it).

Yea I think that's what he gave me! In fact, he might have given me too much! The entire left side of my face numb (including my eye lids)!

Is it an upper tooth? Usually my cheek, eye, eye lid, and even part of my brain go numb for several hours.

Is it an upper tooth? Usually my cheek, eye, eye lid, and even part of my brain go numb for several hours.

Yes it's an upper tooth... Your brain goes numb?? LOL!!

Yes it's an upper tooth...Your brain goes numb????? LOL!!!
At least, that's my excuse -- it's the Novacaine.