This was my first time at the Albany office of Willamette Dental. I had previously been to their Salem location for an emergency crown replacement, and I had a good experience in Salem. I was already told that the office in Albany would have nitrous available for my teeth cleaning. I do not ALWAYS need nitrous for cleanings, but this was a new office and I had a period of 6-8 years where I did not have regular dental care so I had a lot of anxiety.
I have extreme dental fear, due to repeated abuse by a dentist as a child. This dentist also threatened me with violence; and regularly filled cavities, pulled teeth and drilled when I was not numb (and had told him I was not numb). So, I have been getting nitrous for most of my dental procedures for the last 30+ years. I consider myself an expert on my own body and my healthcare. Nitrous works well for my anxiety, and I really like that it does not have any long lasting sedative effects.
My first interaction was getting x-rays with a woman I believe is named Marcella (she had a large tattoo on the back of her neck that looked like a Scorpio symbol). She asked me why I needed nitrous for my procedure. I explained I had a childhood history of a dentist working on me when I was not numb and also threatening me. She replied "you seem fine now". So I explained that there are sounds and smells that are very triggering once I am in the dental chair. This was really unprofessional, and NOT her business, in my opinion. She definitely did not make me feel more at ease by the way she spoke to me and treated me.
I then met Haley, the dental hygienist. The first thing she said to me was "You need nitrous? You know, it doesn't work for everyone." So at this point I am unsure if the staff are trying to imply that I am asking for nitrous because they think I want to get high, or what; but it started to feel like everyone was very judgmental about my request for nitrous. Also, it was totally unnecessary for her to share her opinion that nitrous doesn't work for everyone. It's probably one of the WORST things you can say to an anxious patient. Haley didn't actually ask me why I needed nitrous, which would have been appropriate and client-centered and sensitive; she just told me her opinion about it and proceeded.
Haley started me on oxygen and then told me that she would start the nitrous shortly after. She reached behind me and then told me the nitrous was on. After a few short minutes, she told me she was going to start working. I was still waiting for the nitrous to start working. I even told her that this was the first time I had ever been given nitrous and NOT felt sedated. She shrugged and said she was going to start working, and said to raise my hand if I felt any pain, and then she started working. She did not ask if I felt calmer or if I would like the nitrous adjusted at all. So now she has started to work on me, after me telling her that I was NOT sedated, and this triggered me and also created new trauma for me. (Why didn't she ask a dentist or coworker for advice or help with this, once I said I was not sedated at all- to be sure the tanks were operating correctly?) If you research trauma, and trauma informed care, you will learn that a person who is being triggered or traumatized might not act or react the way you THINK they should, but also it becomes very hard for them to communicate once a person is triggered.
Haley stopped once to say that I still seemed anxious and asked me if I would like to reschedule. I explained that my reaction was not going to be any better if I came back another day. At this point I was just trying to hold it together, because I was still not feeling any sedation effects from the nitrous and I was actively triggered. I watched her reach behind me (toward the nitrous) at least twice after this interaction. The last time she did so, I slowly started to get relief and calm down; however, my appointment was almost over by the time that happened.
After the appointment, I was slightly calmer and at that point told her that: it was VERY strange that I did not get any relief until over halfway through the procedure, and also that she was the very first person to administer nitrous and not adjust the levels until I was comfortable. Haley then told me that when she saw how anxious I was, she adjusted the nitrous level to maximum at the very beginning. She then also told me that the reason she kept reaching behind me was to just "check" the levels and make sure that I didn't run out of nitrous during the procedure. I might have believed her if this was my first time getting nitrous, but it was not. I know how it works for me, and this is definitely not what happened. The effects are noticeable within minutes, and I did not get relief until at least 45 minutes into the cleaning. But also, there is NO WAY that starting the nitrous level at maximum is best practice, so that is also problematic. read more