When Marty showed up to have his filling replaced, he seemed concerned about the local anesthetic. He wanted to skip it. He’d had it before, with no complications, so I asked more questions. I discovered that Marty had smoked crack at 10 AM and had mentioned the upcoming dental appointment to a friend who declared, “Whoa, that can kill you. Cancel it.” That statement got his attention!
It is actually possible that crack use in the morning could cause complications during dental treatment in the afternoon. The local anesthetic used in dentistry usually contains epinephrine, and that could have made Marty’s heart race, if residual cocaine was still in his system. Fortunately, I also have an anesthetic without epinephrine. We proceeded with treatment.
Marty’s experience serves as a reminder for anyone having dental treatment. My job is not to judge you for the decisions you make, but your job is to reveal anything about your health, prescriptions, and recreational drug use so we avoid a medical emergency.
Certain drugs also make the gum tissue look a bit unusual. We need to know what you are taking, the dose, and the duration so we can make an accurate diagnosis.
And for those that are wondering, crack cocaine use does damage teeth.
Contact Winterset Dental today to find out which treatment is right for you.