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I’m on the books to have dental implant surgery soon with Clear Choice Dental Implants. I didn’t give them all my medical information and now I’m worried about it. I don’t want to end up in a dangerous situation because they didn’t know everything. The reason why I held some information back is because when I told them that I used to be on Suboxone, they freaked out. I worried that if I told them that I was currently on Methadone, that they wouldn’t do the procedure. Will they cancel if I tell them? What if I don’t tell them?
Russell
Dear Russell,
I’m glad you wrote. While dental sedation has helped countless people get anxiety free and pain free dental care, including those with high anxiety, it is imperative that your dentist knows about all medication you are taking. This is for your own safety. First, there can be interactions between your medication and your sedation. A second issue is that any medication you are taking will impact the efficacy of your sedation. In order to properly dose you, they will need all of that information.
I do want to issue a word of caution here. While Clear Choice Dental Implant Centers tend to do decent work, they are a one-size fits all type of practice. They push people to the all-on-four procedure even if they don’t have bone loss. They also sometimes have an issue deviating from the standard treatment plan. This will especially important when if comes to your needs with sedation.
Because you are on Methadone, you will need an adjustment to your sedation medication. The problem with that is Clear Choice isn’t known for making adjustments. In fact, I recently learned of a situation that distressed me. He received an email from someone asking advice about his situation.
Here is what my colleague said, “I received an email from a patient complaining that he now has nightmares about his ClearChoice experience. He had shared information with them that suggested that he would likely require a stronger dose of sedative. He ended up waking up in the middle of the procedure and, rather than give him an additional dose, they just physically restrained him. He ended up with his teeth out of place, I’m guessing because it was difficult for them to work on him while he was writhing in pain.”
I am going to recommend that you at least see another dentist to get a second opinion on your case. Be certain to tell them about all your medications. But, I firmly believe going to a private dentist in a case like yours would be important. They are better at tailoring care to what the patient needs. They may think traditional dental implant supported dentures would be a better option for you.
This blog is brought to you by a compassionate dentist in Baton Rouge, Dr. John Theriot.