I’ve had dental anxiety since I was 12. Before my implant overdenture procedure, I told the doctor about fear. She assured me that she would sedate me, and she and her team would ensure I stayed deeply relaxed. Not. I woke up during the procedure and felt someone holding my arms down. When I woke up, I noticed that my upper denture’s position was too far forward. It was uncomfortably pushing my lips and affecting my speech. I had to return to the office about my concerns, but the office seemed unalarmed and said my procedure was incomplete. I am also drooling foul-smelling saliva and feeling more discomfort than anticipated. I return for a checkup next week but want to quit before the saga drags on. I believe I am headed toward dental implant failure or a horrible smile that will cause me to get the implants or dentures redone anyway. I’m not sure what to ask, but I thought that writing to you about my experience would help me understand what to do next. I am having nightmares about what happened. Thanks. Elijah from UT
Elijah,
Thank you for sharing your experience. We understand your disappointment and frustration.
Why Did You Wake Up During Your Dental Procedure?
Monitoring sedation throughout your dental procedure ensures you stay deeply relaxed.
Patients may wake up during a dental procedure if they resist sedation and require diligent monitoring to ensure they are and remain deeply sedated. The dental team should have been attentive as promised and given you more sedation, although that would have interrupted the team’s schedule.
Did you get oral sedation or IV sedation? It’s simple to administer more medication through the IV, and it would take effect immediately. Oral sedation takes at least another half hour for the medication to take effect.
It’s challenging for an implant dentist to do high-quality work on an uncomfortable patient. Perhaps that was the cause of the position of your replacement teeth.
If you are uncomfortable asking your implant dentist to correct your implant dentures, we recommend getting a second opinion from a dentist with advanced implant and cosmetic dentistry training. After assessing the cause of the discomfort with your replacement teeth, the implant dentist will explain your treatment options. You can decide which provider you want to correct the dental work.
Sugar Land implant and cosmetic dentist Dr. Siny Thomas sponsors this post.