willybrown

Hello Winniethepooh26:

I am a licensed dentist who has been practicing for 14 years. I have seen nearly every typical scenario to be found in a general dental office, and beyond in some cases.
First of all, in order to give you advice on your situation, I would need to see your records. Most important of these are radiographs (X-ray films).
This would be to determine if you actually "NEED" all your teeth extracted.

I would caution anyone against having all their teeth removed in order to replace them with full dentures. Full dentures do not solve people's problems. They just begin a potentially new and different set of problems. No matter what anyone will tell you, a partial denture (one that is held in with some natural teeth) is ALWAYS preferable over a full denture. There are reasons for this.
You should be informed of these and other options before you have all your teeth removed. Ask a lot of questions of your dentist. Get a second, or third opinion on your case before you do something that may not be necessary- like having your remaining natural teeth removed.
I have seen many, many people who were told by others that they, "NEED", their remaining teeth removed. In many of those cases it simply is not true. But I can not diagnose your case wthout seeing you or your records. Just take this as a word of caution before you allow someone to do something as extreme as you mentioned. There ARE other options in many cases.

That being said- There are several methods of obtaining pain and anxiety control for certain patients who may be difficult to manage because of extreme anxiety or phobias over dental treatment. It is a complicated issue. And it depends on each individual's anxiety level and tolerance to procedures.
If you do need this type of service (tooth extractions, anxiety control) it can be accomplished simply by seeing the right dentist who has the skills to handle your anxiety without administering drugs. I have done this a countlesss number of times for people over the years
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But if drugs are necessary to complete the procedure for you, there are many drugs and methods of administering these drugs to obtain varying levels of anxiety control. It may be accomplished by oral sedation, where the patient is still aware of the surroundings, but is not anxious about the procedure, to general anesthesia where one is "knocked out" completely for the procedure and is brought out of anesthesia after the procedure is complete.
All types of oral sedation, and general anesthesia have their risks and benefits. These should be clearly explained to you before hand in a way that you completely understand and consent to.
Either way is generally safe in the hands of trained and experienced practitioners. But there are risks. And you must be informed of these risks, and understand everything before you allow someone to do anything in a dental office.

A final word of caution: be very careful, a lot of dentists will do anything that you let them do, whether you need it or not. If you have not already done so, ask if this procedure is really necesarry. Ask if there are other alternative teatment(s) that will allow you to retain at least some of your natural teeth. Commonly patients become so frustrated with their situation pertaining to their teeth, because they have gotten so bad, that they simply want them all taken out. They THINK that this will solve their problem. It just is not so.
There is nothing that is currently available that is better than having your natural teeth in your jaws. That is a fact that you can believe in. If there is a possibility of saving AT LEAST some of your teeth- find out about that. I encourage you to go this route if possible. You may not realize it, but you will be glad you did. However- in ether case, partial or full dentures, it is dependent on the skill of the dentist and the skill of the laboratory that manufactures the dentures that determine the success of the case and the long-term comfort and satisfaction of the patient with their new dentures. But that is a whole different subject...

Good luck to you. I hope this helps. I will be following this message board in case you may need futher assistance with your questions.