I always gag at the dentists with x-rays. help!?

hey guys, everytime i visit my dentist for bitewing x-rays (the one how u stick in one side of your mouth), i start to gag. is there anyway to help without too much trouble??

thanks

Sometimes it's mind over matter... if you've had a 'bad' experience at previous dental offices when the xrays were taken, chances are it's the first thing that pops into your head when you see a new one.

If you let the assistant know you've had problems in the past, such as gagging, they will be able to accomodate your gag reflex and work with it. I've had many patients tell me that they used to gag 'at the other office', but they didn't with me..LOL.. placement of the XCP device is crucial, as is retracting the tongue with it and not hitting the palate... all of this can be accomplished with experience.

If the device is too large, bitewing tabs can be used in it's place, provided the assistant knows the correct angle at which to place the cone... this will depend on the patients position.

The next time you are scheduled for xrays, request that you be sitting straight up, and ask for the tabs... hopefully it'll make a difference.

Good luck to you!

:)

it is natural for the body to react in such a way. What i usually do is place the piece in my mouth and bite down really hard while thinking i am somewhere else like in a football game and the plastic piece in my mouth is a mouthgaurd. i don't know? it works for me so it might work for you.

our body is designed to expel foreign objects, so it's natural to gag. i totally understands how you felt.

it's part of your body's mechanism, i do not think you can do much to relieve that problem.

maybe just let the operator know that you have this gagging experience. he/she may understand and try to make the process as quickly as possible.

and try to go with a somewhat empty stomach, so you wont puke all over the place.

i'm a dental hygiene and therapy student and recently we are learning to take dental X rays.

we had tried onto each other and i'm gagging when my friend was putting the film to the back of my mouth to take a shot for lower wisdom tooth.

it was ever so uncomfortable.

the worse thing is that my friend does it slowly.

i cannot really complain much because we were still undergoing trainning and were inexperienced.

Two possible options, one you might try breathing through your nose and wiggling your toes while the x-ray is taken or ask if they have a topical anesthetic spray which will numb the tongue for a brief time and then you don't notice the radiograph as much. The sprays are generally flavored and don't hurt at all, but they may make you gag!

Breathe through your nose and really concentrate on breathing through your nose, tip you head slightly forward and down helps clear the throat area. Lift a leg slightly or wiggling your toes helps get your mind off the xray.

I agree with MK but having my patients with this problem lift BOTH feet in the air while doing the breathing thing seems to work best. Good luck!