need to bounce some thoughts around...feedback is welcome

[dreamers]

We are afraid of the dentist but oddly the worst thing for us is cleaning. It h*rts like f-ing hell when they touch certain " healthy" teeth with that metal hook thing. However, no detentist believes us that it hurts and so they are unwilling to numb our mouth for cleaning... no matter how much we plead and beg them to.

For other medical procedures, we have found that Buzzy ( an icepack/viberator combo is helpful to relieve pain and stress associated with minor procedures ( IV starts, routine labs botox for migraines, etc.

Inspired by Buzzy and how it gives us an option for controlling our own pain, we went searching the web for an oral equal to Buzzy.

After hours on hours of looking, we found orachill. A mouth piece that is like a blue gel icepack.

At first we were excited because we thought that idea was to wear it throughout treatment. However I emailed the support people clarification and they said that if one uses all 3 included mouth pieces in rapid succesion, the numbing effect lasts between 15 and 30 minutes while the ice is off.

This sounds impossible to me. I know cold can numb but for the effect to continue while you refreeze the mouthpieces... most of me is thinking yeah right... I bet they own a wide selection of bridges they could offer me.

There is part of me though that is thinking nothing ventured nothing gained.

the need to refreeze the orachills during visits also poses a problem. My dentist may have a freezer or not but even if they do, they may not see the need for ice and thus might not be willing to stop what they are doing, take my mouthpiece to the freezer, get the other set of 3 wait for me to use them...etc

So, to maintain the most control over our pain we would need to purchase a tabletop freezer with the orachill.

We found a reasonably priced one on eBay and the seller assured me that it can indeed freeze water when I asked.

Our foo and daniel are willing to pay for both the freezer and 2 sets of orachills if that is really what we want for Christmas.

The littles are protesting that if it doesn't work, we will have wasted our Christmas gift.

The freezer seller will accept a return but the orachill people do not. However, they have paypal as an option so it should be protected by the paypal buyer protection program.

Someone inside said " even if it doesn't work, maybe bringing a freezer asking to plug it in, explaining why we brought it would finally get the point across that " minor procedures really do hurt for us"

we cant decide whether we should go ahead and order or run for the hills. Any thoughts?

[dreamers]

update: oddly, the FDA did approve this device but as a teething ring not a replacement for numbing meds. I might submit an annomious tip to the FDA since if some patient believed them that it would block pain and as well as numbing stuff does and he/or she decided to just use that for something major, it could be very d*ng*rous. I now think the product might help sooth irriation while in my mouth from say canker sores but would not work as a numbing replacement.

I wrote the company saying how " i can't believe how much the FDA miss-represented their product and asked if they wanted my lawyer uncle's contact info. " if it were my product I would sue the fda... you surely have studies to back the meds replacement claim no one would dare do what I saw on youtube without lots of research first...".

My angle in acting like they must be innocent is that they might offer me a free one or huge discount to keep me from thinking much more and working out that I have it backwards.

so of the littles still think it might help with non-invasive cleaning. But theres no way I would pay full price now

[The People]

I am amazed that dentists will not work with you in a way that works for you. Partly because it makes their lives easier but also because people have varying pain sensitivities for many reasons.

Have you ever shared the fact that you are SA survivor? If so (not saying you should) there is literature that discusses the fact that dental work is challenging for us. Have you noticed a difference b/t men and women as dentists? Old or young? (I wouldn't go with fresh out of college) Have you taken pain relievers prior to starting?

There is a hospital here that has a dental unit. Most of the patients are people with varying challenges. Prices are the same as they would be when going to a regular dentist. I suspect that they would have more understanding. Is there a place that you can call looking for specific types of dentists?

One last thought. We take anti-anxiety and antidepressants. I am quite sure this is why we are less responsive to things that are supposed to put us under or whatever. If you are on meds would they cause any extra sensitivity?