Hi Furstm,
How wonderful to have a concerned health provider coming here in search for more information as to how to deal with their patient!! You are to be heartily commended!! I wish MORE doctors and health providers would be so considerate!!!
Your patient has every reason to be very concerned and anxious as to his/her care. MCAD or Mast Cell Activation Disorder is a recent diagnosis of another form of Mast Cell Disease which to this diagnosis also belongs Systemic Mastocytosis. Although science has progressed as to gaining understanding to Mast Cell Disorders, they are still unsure as to whether MCAD is a problem of the proliferation of mast cells or that of an activation of mast cells. Regardless of which it is, the end result is still the same - we are hyper-reactive patients. In other words, you are not going to get a patient who is MORE "ALLERGIC" than a masto patient!
Our doctors are required to treat us with kid gloves! Some of us are HIGHLY reactive to medications, latex, foods and medical procedures. Some of us are less reactive. Each of us have very individualistic presentations of this disease. There is not a single one of us alike. So, although some masto patients can face dental procedures without a single issue, some others of us must do our dental procedures in the operating room with an anesthesiologist on standby. I am one of these. Although I have not had any recent dental work, when I needed to have a tooth removed 3 years ago, it was in the OR and I was given sedation to help deal with the anxiety as well as to keep the Mast cells quiet. Yet I have a history of severe reactions and will react to any kind of invasive procedure and contrasts. We masto patients are capable of what is called Stress Anaphylaxis - it's a form of anaphylaxis which has been striggered by the stress system and as you know, dental procedures create a lot of anxiety with many people. This anxiety is probably more reactive than the anesthesia you use.
We have on here specially designed protocols for masto patients. Here is the location:
http://mastcelldisorders.wallack.us/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1293571751I also have the email address of a Dentist in Portugual who not only has mastocytosis, however he also has written his thesis on dental procedures on masto patients and their oral issues. If you send me PM, I'll be more than happy to get you in touch with this dentist so that he can help you gain more understanding as to how to work with masto patients and what our particular needs are.
I hope this helps!
Lisa