I first went to see Dr Raza in Spring 2009 when my persistent toothache became too overwhelming to control with painkillers and I found myself unable to eat, sleep or even think. Before calling Dr Raza’s practice, I had spoken with several other dentists near my London office, explaining inexplicable terror of dentists and trying to identify whether or not they would be able to treat me without reducing me to a shivering mass of anxiety. While most dentist practices I contacted assured me that they had dealt with patients like myself before, the only measure of “panic prevention” I was offered was local anaesthetics, which had never done much to help me in the past as my main fear is related to the dentist him-/ herself, the chair, the environment and the instruments rather than any actual or imagined pain during treatment. I had heard of IV sedation before and thought it may be a good option for someone like myself, however I’d been told that it was “costly”, “time-consuming” and/or “unnecessary” by other dentists. When I contacted Dr Raza’s practice, I was immediately assured that my fear of the dentist would not be an issue and they also cleared a spot for me straight away to see to my (by now excruciatingly painful) tooth.After an initial assessment it was clear that I would require root canal treatment, which amounted to my worst dentistry-related nightmare and intensified terror I was feeling at sitting on a dentist’s chair. I was somewhat dubious about the IV sedation at fist, believing that it would be a) only incapacitate me while still feeling the sheet terror during treatment or b) be completely ineffective and simply a placebo to keep me sitting in the chair for a while longer. I was completely wrong on both accounts and left 1.5hrs later, a little groggy but without a toothache – and more importantly, without the anxiety that would usually precede any visit to the dentist and linger for several days after treatment as I have had no recollection of the work that had been done. While I have been completely in control of my actions and able to communicate while under sedation, all I recall from my treatments is the injection prior to the treatment followed by a warm and “fuzzy” feeling without remembering the “unpleasantness” of the treatment itself, and administration of the local anaesthetics preceding the dental work or feeling the helpless terror I had previously experienced when sitting in a dental chair.As I have been avoiding the dentist for almost 10 years due to my anxiety (which, in my experience, many dentists can be very ungracious and impatient in dealing with), I have had a lot more dental work done at Dr Raza’s practice and IV sedation, in combination with Dr Raza and his gracious, patient and experienced staff, has not only helped me get through all of my treatments but, almost more importantly, has gone a long way to overcoming the panic I would usually feel when thinking of dentist s and I am now able to go to a routine check up without feeling anxious and nauseous for day before and without sitting in the waiting room shaking like a leaf with anticipation of the upcoming terror of having to climb “the chair”. I can only recommend IV treatment to anyone who experiences similar feelings when going to, or thinking of, the dentist – while you can “push through” each treatment at a time without sedation, it will likely only intensify the fear and heighten the anxiety preceding each visit.
Michaela Tyson
