Dental Extraction — Noise, Anesthesia, Antibiotics, Pain Medication

I have been having one-sided nasal tightness, sinus pressure, some ear pressure, some front teeth pressure that I thought were caused by sinus infection. It’s been a couple of months and no improvement. I am now suspecting it could be caused by a supernumerary (extra) tooth that is located inside the gum ridge area right behind my left front tooth.

I plan to meet with an oral surgeon soon to discuss the options for extracting it. I haven’t been to a dentist since tinnitus started so I am pretty nervous.

My main concerns are the noise level from dental tools (drilling, suctioning), anesthesia, and medications that are taken after the procedure.

Noise Level:
There is probably gonna be some drilling involved since the tooth is inside the gums. Should I ask the surgeon to drill a few seconds and then stop for few seconds? I saw YouTube videos of similar extraction processes and a lot of times the dental assistants suction blood that comes out. What are your experiences with the suction tool? Do you tell the assistant to not use it or only use it for a few seconds and turn it off when not in use?
Are x-ray machines and CBCT machines loud? Should I be wearing earplugs in the machine?

Anesthesia:
I am going to ask for local. Is Novocaine or Lidocaine safer/less ototoxic for tinnitus patients?

Antibiotics Medication:
Should I ask for Amoxicillin? I searched this forum and it seems like Amoxicillin is the least ototoxic antibiotics.

Pain Medication:
Is regular Tylenol or Tylenol extra strength enough? I know opioids are often prescribed for oral surgeries but the side effects seem scary.

Thank you in advance!

 

Bump

 

Yes, drill for 5 seconds, and then stop for 10 seconds. Most dentists will not want to do this. Look for a dentist who will be more reasonable and do this for you. Consider offering to pay for the extra time.

If the dentist tells you that you need an antibiotic, ask for Amoxicillin. Tylenol ought to also be safe.

I haven't had any problems with the suction tool. I am not sure what CBCT stands for.

I've never had any problems with the anesthesia drugs.

My case is worse. I have a zirconia crown that was put in years before I got tinnitus. It is my understanding that they are extremely tough to drill. A cavity has developed under it, and the dentist says that it is impossible to repair without exposing me to a lot of noise. If the cavity isn't fixed, the tooth will have to be extracted, and again that would likely involve having to drill that tough crown...

 

Thank you for your reply!

I will ask the dentist to drill 5 seconds and pause 10 seconds. Hopefully he is understanding about it.

That’s good to know. I will ask for Amoxicillin.

CBCT is a cone beam CT machine that takes 3D scans I think. But I am most likely just going to have an xray. Do you know if x-ray machines are loud?

Oh no that’s a tough situation I do hope that your dentist is able to accommodate the breaks between drilling. Also, I read about laser dentistry in this forum. Do you think you could benefit from laser drills? If I recall correctly, one person said he/she was able to wear earplugs because there wasn’t much bone conduction.

 

The regular X-ray machines and the ones that create panoramic X-rays are quiet.

I found an amazing dentist that specializes in lasers and is also mindful of running the drill at lowest RPM possible to accommodate my tinnitus (which is something you might also want to discuss with your dentist!) That dentist had performed a lot of work on my teeth, and it ended up being virtually stress-free. Unfortunately those zirconia crowns are made of material that in many ways is similar to metal. The dentist basically said that there isn't much that he can do for me (given my constraints). He advised that the dentist in my city (many hours away from the city where I had to drive to get all of that dental work done) apply a substance to the cavity that would significantly slow down, but not stop the decay. It's horrible.

Lasers can't be used on crowns and dental fillings (to shape the filling once it's in). Most dentist won't use lasers for anything except very minor, shallow cavities. But it is possible to find dentists who have the equipment and who are willing to use it for major drilling (which will take a lot longer than using a regular drill).

By the way, you want the dentist who owns the newer electric-powered, as opposed to air-powered drills, as the former are supposed to be quieter.

 

It’s good that you have a dentist who is understanding and makes most dental procedures less stressful. Tinnitus really sucks. Hopefully everything will work out fine for your zirconia crown!

Thanks for all the advice I am probably gonna have the consultation with my dentist in the next two weeks and will ask him if he uses electric drills and if he can drill at a low RPM.