Dr. Noah's Dentistry Blog

Questions About Dentistry Answered

Archives for April 2016

Can I Self Medicate with Marijuana Before Going to the Dentist?

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I take marijuana for anxiety. And I can assure you a dentist causes me anxiety. I have a serious toothache and likely need to see a dentist. Will they treat me while having marijuana in my system if I have a prescription for it?

Mark L. – Arizona

Mark,

Honestly, it will depend on the dentist. I suspect from your question that you don’t have a dentist of your own. That’s OK. My suggestion would be to call around and ask some emergency dentists. There are two very important aspects to this though.

  1. You need to be seen. You likely have a tooth infection. Infections spread, so you’ll want to get the infection removed.
  2. You need to tell the dentist that you’ve got marijuana in your system. It could save your life. Here’s why.

Many dentists use a local anesthetic that contains epinephrine, which isn’t a great mix with marijuana. It can cause an abnormal hearthbeat or peripheral vasodilation. Either of those combined with your anxiety can cause serious harm to you. As long as the dentist knows what you have in your system, he can avoid any contraindications.

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Thought I was saving money until my tooth fell out

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I needed to replace my tooth. I called around to find the cheapest dentist to do it. I was so excited when I found a dentist who was several thousand dollars cheaper. I got the procedure done. Then the new tooth just fell completely out. I went back and he’s saying it’s my fault. I went to a different dentist and he told me that first one botched the job. Now I have to spend a lot more money to get it fixed and need and additional procedure. I’m devastated. It’s going to cost me double than if I had just gone to a different dentist to begin with.  Can I get my money back?

Stella B. – Denver, CO

Stella,

What a horrible experience. I think you’ve learned there is a very big difference between an affordable dentist and a cheap dentist. This cheap dentist has cost you a small fortune.

As far as getting a refund, there is no guarantee. It helps that you have a second dentist saying that the procedure was botched. Your first dentist will likely care about his professional opinion. You could get at least a partial refund just by that reason alone.

The fact that it fell out works in your favor too, because it didn’t meet the minimum standard of care, which is it needs to be functional.

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