Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I've been having an extensive amount of dental work done in the past few months and on Monday I had to sit in that chair for 3 solid hours! They gave me the first pain shot and waited a few min, then they came back in to see if I was ready, but I was only the tiniest bit numb. One shot should have done it but I ended up getting 3 for that bit of work. I was racking my brain to think what I'd done that morning and all I could think of was that I'd taken my vit C right before coming in and they said yes! Do not take vit C as it can alter the pain relief and I ended up getting 6 shots of novocaine before it was all over. They almost cancelled it and sent me home till another day but I live 2-1/2 hours away and it's for a fairly serious problem that needed to be taken care of.
The good news is that after it's all over, if you pop a C, the novocaine will wear off much sooner and more completely. Anyone heard of this? I know C can interfere w/ other meds but I hadn't thought of that. My dentist said he's going to start warning his patients, b/c they tend to be more healthminded than most.
I routinely take Vitamin C but not right before a dental visit....I have to take 4 large antibiotic
pills an hour before going in, because I had a knee replacement....hubby too...even if it's just
to get our teeth cleaned.
Before I went to an oral surgeon to have all four impacted wisdom teeth removed, my regular dentist told me to take 1,000 mg of Vit. C every day for at least two weeks prior to the surgery. The reason he gave is that Vit C helps to reduce bleeding and aids in keeping gums healthy.
Have no proof to the contrary since I took the Vit C as advised; so whether the outcome would have been the same had I not taken the Vit C, I have no idea.
I will say that I healed quickly, had minimal bleeding, and was back at work the next day feeling great.
Why should she waste her time digging up scientific research for you when she just provided personal experience?
Why don't you do some investigation on this, bounce that off some peer-based studies and report back to us here?
Personal experience? Irrelevant. Here's my personal experience: I get up at 5:30 every morning. The sun always comes up a little while later after I wake up. So if I die in my sleep and don't wake up....then I will assume the sun will not come up.
"Personal experience" proves nothing, does not account for coincidence, does not account for confounding variables, and does not establish causality. This is where science comes in. Do you prefer your doctor to have scientific research behind what he tells you? It sounds like you prefer him to just make something up that sounds good.
Personal experience? Irrelevant. Here's my personal experience: I get up at 5:30 every morning. The sun always comes up a little while later after I wake up. So if I die in my sleep and don't wake up....then I will assume the sun will not come up.
"Personal experience" proves nothing, does not account for coincidence, does not account for confounding variables, and does not establish causality. This is where science comes in. Do you prefer your doctor to have scientific research behind what he tells you? It sounds like you prefer him to just make something up that sounds good.
Yes, it was my personal experience, but the dentist behaved as if it were a well known fact and that he had simply forgotten to tell me--he actually felt pretty bad about it. As soon as I mentioned the vitamin C they all snapped their fingers like, "Oh yeah. . . " I've had several sessions similar to this last one where I didn't take my C before going in and the painkiller worked just fine, so I have a really good idea how well it should work. So, don't take your Vitamin C right before going to the dentist. If I'm wrong though and you do it, you'll die a horrible death.
This would seem to support what stepka is talking about, that C can interfere with anasthesia:
Quote:
C gets in the way
The American Association of Nurse Anesthetists identifies the three primary causes of IOA as the misuse or failure of anesthesia equipment, inadequate anesthesia, and patient-related factors. In this third category, variables such as advanced age, obesity, and drug or alcohol abuse may compromise the effect of anesthesia. In fact, even high doses of vitamin C may interfere.
In the e-Alert "C Saw" (5/28/03), HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., explained that a high level of vitamin C is so detoxifying that it can complicate the anesthesia process. He said, "Many times I've had patients tell me that their anesthesiologist was surprised at how much medication was required to knock them out." For those patients who take large doses of vitamin C (something that Dr. Spreen generally recommends), he suggests that they gradually taper off their daily dose until reaching nearly zero just before the surgery.
This would seem to support what stepka is talking about, that C can interfere with anasthesia:
Good to know for any type of surgery! Thanks!
I humbly suggest that it does not support it. That reference refers to general anesthesia and intraoperative awareness. This is very different from local anesthesia used in the dental office acting on peripheral nerves. Sometimes, the numbing medicine simply doesn't work well and nobody knows why.
There is nothing wrong with avoiding Vit C before a dental appointment if it makes someone feel better. I'm simply trying to keep more "old wives tales" from getting started. Like those ladies who say their teeth are bad because their baby sucked the calcium out of their teeth. Or people who say cancer spreads "when air hits it".
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
