Dental Work (Including Drilling) & Tinnitus — Questions and Experiences

Of course. Everyone has different opinions. But valium is widely recognised as something that people take for fear of certain situations - dentist, flights etc. Not for 'every little fear we have in life', just selective highly distressing situations. And chocolate/sugar is also a drug, just a more widely acceptable one; chocolate has been shown in research studies to increase serotonin and thereby induce feelings of calm - and indeed can be highly addictive. Everything is relative and ultimately down to the individual's choice. I personally don't believe you have to be a masochist and put yourself through unnecessary trauma to become stronger - I think tinnitus is enough of a raw deal of the cards. Addiction of medication is over-exaggerated; if you have a glass of wine you are not an alcoholic, if you have a valium for a particular situation it's no big deal in my view.

 

If im going to be in a nerve racking situation, I will take a klonopin so i agree with you.. Theres nothing wrong with it.

 

Just had an implant two weeks ago, put it off for a year.Did fine.
Wore ear protection and took several breaks.
Did not make it worse. Good luck.

 

Also, the drill vibration in head was not as bad as I thought it would be. I did some research and the drill vibration into bone is slower and less of a high pitch.(gulp). Hope you do well.

 

Hi Meeruf - I think you will be fine .i went to densit few months back..had 7 cavities filled and got my teeth cleaned .no change in T at all . I was not even wearing any plugs .

 

Did you have a traditional cleaning or that ultrasonic junk?

 

I had the traditional cleaning .

 

I also request traditional cleaning.

 

Don't worry. The drilling should be painless and low noise. The jawbone has lower density than the teeth so the drilling is a lot less noisy and they also have to stop to let the bone cool down and not hurt any nerves. When a wisdom tooth is pulled, they should put some growth factor in the hole and let it rest for a while, but there are dentists that do everything on one visit. AFAIK that's not the best.

 

I guys. I did not have to drill after all. I changed dentist. She was kind of surprised that my old dentist wanted to put in an implant. My new dentist was much more caring about my hearing issue too. Much more relaxed and gave me a lot of information. She also removed a lot of tartar from my teeth. My old dentist did not even mention that I had a lot of tartar.

It was a much more pleasant experience.

 

Hello,
I know that this has been discussed over and over but I just want to make sure I am comfortable and knowledgeable before I go. I know I am going to have to go to the dentist. I am having a toothache. I am pretty positive that I will need a cavity filled. What about the dentist drill? Do I wear ear plugs or no? I read yes and then I read no because the ear plugs block the noise from getting out and makes my T worse. Is that true? I have been to the dentist many times since my T started and never had a problem but I had a spike a few months ago(due to pregnancy) and now am scared as t o what to do. Also what happens if I have to get my teeth cleaned? Does the drill or any work or a cleaning make my T worse?
Thanks in advance!

 

Hi Mo2 my best advice is this,dont wear ear plugs as it really doesnt help at all the drill is hitting your tooth and not the ear so nearly all of the noise is through bone conduction so ear plugs are virtually useless for this and actually make the drilling worse.Secondly ask the dentist in question to use the on off procedure,some dentists will charge extra for this but most are happy to do it,they will do a few seconds of drilling and then stop for a few seconds making it less uncomfortable.If they use one of the high pitch drills ask them could they use a less noisy kind of drill,some will not but others will be happy to help just by putting a different drill bit on can make a big difference.

 

Hi
I have posted on here about my concern about going to the dentist. I have heard not to wear ear plugs will not do much and also with the noise thru the bone to the ear. I have read to maybe wear musician ear plugs or ear muffs. Now I know everyone is not talking about ear muffs you wear in the snow- but are these the same ear muffs that I see landscapers wear to protect their ears? Or should I just wear nothing no protection whatsoever. I am going to have the dentist do the 5 second of drilling and 10 seconds off. Hoping that will help. Is the suction and the polisher when they polish teeth very loud or is it just the drill? Do I have to ask about the 5/10 rule with them also?

 

I have had dental work since T. I did wear earplugs for external high pitch sounds. Took breaks so I could relax jaw. Did not find the internal noise to be an issue. Good luck.

 

Figured I'd share this bit of info too!

http://www.dentalcarestamford.com/ear_brochure.html

Nice article. Gives me hope mine can be cured, since it started around this time. Guess it's time to see a specialist!

 

there definitely can be a connection between TMJ and tinnitus.

A visit to a specialist who can assess your condition might be helpful, @luckyman316. Hope that proves to be true

 

@LadyDi good news, I have an appointment with a specialist on Tuesday!

 

Hi everyone, wondering if anyone has advice about getting dental work done. I have a few procedures I need to do over the next few months (the first being a root canal in a couple days), and I'm really anxious about having a T spike after that. Mine has already spiked pretty badly recently (possibly anxiety-related about all of this dental stuff), and I'm terrified that either the drilling or the procedure itself will make things even worse.

Has anyone dealt with this or have any advice/remedies on mitigating the noise? It sucks that this has to be such a concern. Thanks in advance for any help!

 

Hello Amy,
Hard enough to have T, then we have added stress when other medical issues arise.
I have had dental work, cleaning, dental implant and upcoming apptointment for crown work. I wore ear protection for the noise and took breaks to relax my jaw. Did ok but like you I was very concerned. Good luck hope it goes well.

 

Thanks Leah! That makes me feel a little better. When you say ear protection, do you mean earplugs? Or the bigger ear defender headphones? Trying to figure out if it makes sense to get anything noise-canceling before the appointment.

 

Just used earplugs.

 

@Amy I don't want to scare you with my story, but my T started right after my root canal The best advice I can give you, if you're really nervous about it, take Xanax! The dentist can actually prescribe it for you. Also, when they are done putting the temporary fillings in, make sure they are not too high. it can throw your bite off and when they do the fitting for the crown, your posts and crown may be too high! Good luck to you!

 

@luckyman316 That's what I'm worried about! I've heard people say this before...this will be my 2nd root canal, and the first happened without any problems. The dentist I'm going to seems to know about tinnitus and I'm hoping he'll just be okay with my incessant worrying and question-answering...

 

In the old days drills where indeed as loud as up to 100 db, however, nowadays they do not exceed 80 db. If you are still worried ask your dentist to drill for 5 sec, 10 sec break etc. Wear ear-muffs instead of plugs (due to bone conduction plugs might not help), stick to manual scaling only and try not to worry.

 

I've been getting dental work done slowly because I will have an implant once the area where my tooth was pulled heals well enough, and then I am soon to get a new bridge. All this, of course, costs, even with healthcare insurance. May we one day have British healthcare coverage here in the states.

There have been times when I went in to have dental work done and the T spiked considerably for a good while. That took place when my mouth was grinded on and prepared for the two bridges I have. What a bad dream that was! Also, when doctors work on your mouth and do not insert something to aid you in keeping your mouth open, the stretching on your left can damage the right, which occurred this last time, and now when I eat I hear a loud T sound that I think will go away, but not overnight, since it's been well over six weeks now.

 

Im keepin an eye on this thread also cause ive been avoiding getting my teeth cleaned.. Is it really only 80 db for that or if i have a cavity then they will do the drilling?

 

@Grace I had my teeth cleaned about two weeks ago, and they used the UltraSonic. It wasn't too bad because it only happens for about 2-3 minutes, and my hygienist took breaks. I don't think the current spike I'm having is related, it seems more like it's coming from stress. For my appointment tomorrow, I'm bringing headphones that cover my ears, and I'm going to ask my dentist to take breaks (5 sec on/10 sec off) with the drill to give my ears a break, as people have recommended. Really hoping that keeps the T from spiking.

 

Whenever I have my teeth cleaned at the dentist, I ask the hygenist to use the ultrasonic cleaner on it's lowest pump setting. I also wear plugs.

Same for fillings. I had a filling replaced last year and the drill was just too loud. Plugs help with the exterior noise, but not the sound of the drill rattling through your teeth and jaw to your ears. I asked the detist to drill as slowly as he could. Took longer, but was much quieter. I didn't have a tinnitus spike afterwards.

 

I think they use a different device for cleaning. Ask your dentist for manual scaling.

 

Also, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2094844

Therefore I believe that if anyone's tinnitus does get louder it most likely does not indicate further damage but rather is a result of hyperacusis (the drill sound is very high pitch and annoying) or perhaps irritated and sensitive nerves in gums.