Question:
I have a neurological disorder that my doctors have not been able to
diagnose, at one point it was thought to be Wilson's disease. I say
this only to convey the severity of the symptoms. On the other hand,
periods of time pass where things seem to go well, or at least as well
as can be expected. I believe that the symptoms look like MS or one
of the close differential diagnoses.
I had the first part of a root canal done over a month ago and as
usual the work caused an aggravation of my symptoms. This time a very
severe exacerbation, which may have been worsened by the abcessed
tooth which was worked on.
I am facing the second part of the procedure on this Monday and am
very concerned about the potential reprecussions of receiving another
dose of carbocaine, etc. Especially following so closely one the
heels of such a bad bout of symptoms.
My question is what should be done for a dental patient with a
neurological disorder possibly MS and a potential sensitivity to
anaesthetizing agents. Dental procedures without anaesthesia cause no
problem.(exam, cleaning, minor work)
Any ideas? Sorry for the length of this post ; however, it seemed
important to cover the details.
Answer:
As far as I know lasers are not being used to cut the hard tissues of the
teeth (enamel and dentin). Lasers can do some nice things for soft
tissues, however. I am aware of one research project where a friend of
mine used various substances on extracted teeth to see if they would
absorb enough energy from the laser to cut it. She did not find a really
good absorber. If I am wrong, let me know :)
At this point, root canal therapy cannot be done with lasers and I doubt
you will see this in the near future.
If the root canals have been cleaned and shaped already and your
symptoms have disappeared, you may be able to have the root canals
filled without anesthesia since you say this is what exacerbates your
symptoms.
Dental anesthetics are classified into amides (which are the most commonly
used now) and esters (Novacaine) which are not used much anymore.
Diphenhydramine (Benedryl) has been reported used for people with
documented allergies to the above anesthetics (very rare), but it is
irritating and not very effective and who knows how this would effect
you.
