R
random_outlaw
Junior member
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2009
- Messages
- 5
I'm 32 years old and had numerous bad experiences with dentistry as a child. I had 2 fillings and several teeth pulled over the course of a couple of years when I was 8-9 years old. I have sensory issues and apparently am hard to numb properly... I remember lots of pain and awful sensations, bad tastes and smells, the works. And it went on and on because they would only do one procedure per visit. So I was forced to go to the dentist for all that time (although my mother swears I didn't tell her it hurt ---- I can't speak to that, I do remember being anxious and reluctant to go, but what can you do as a kid?) with inadequate pain control. They were big on the nitrous but unfortunately nitrous doesn't do much for me.
I got braces when I was 21 and they took out my wisdom teeth, but they put me under using IV anesthesia, so that was not a big deal.
After I got my braces off (at 22) I immediately stopped going to the dentist, until last week, when I visited the dentist for the first time in 10 years. Unfortunately all that time without proper care had taken it's toll... I need several fillings and deep cleanings on both sides of my mouth.
Last Tuesday they did the right side of my mouth. I prepared myself (with this site!) and read that dentistry had come a long way in 20+ years, things are mostly painless now, etc. And so I took heart that it wouldn't be too bad.
Unfortunately the visit was awful . My top teeth numbed OK, they were able to clean and I couldn't feel anything. I could still feel her digging around on the bottom teeth, but it was bearable. When it came time for the drilling, I told the dentist I was worried because I still had a lot of sensation on the bottom. He gave me some more anesthetic in the outside of my bottom gum, then went to work drilling the cavities on the top teeth.
Once that was all done he started on the bottom teeth, but I could still feel the drilling. He stopped and said they were going to give me more anesthesia, and stuck the needle deep in the gum on the inside of my teeth, near my tongue. That's when I had my first panic attack. It was awful. The needle hurt SO much and I was just freaking out. Once that was done, he told me they were going to fill the top teeth while they let the anesthetic work on my bottom jaw. That probably took about 10 minutes. Then they started drilling again, and that spot was still hurting terribly. He offered more anesthetic but honestly that needle he'd done the previous time hurt worse than the drilling pain, so I just told him to finish it. I had two more panic attacks while they were finishing up. It was just awful.
They've given me Halcion for the next time, but I am still worried about pain control, because it seems I have a history of poorly controlled pain in my bottom jaw, going back to childhood (I remember that specific thing when I was a kid, too - they offered more anesthetic but it hurt worse than the actual procedure).
Any suggestions? I am freaking out, and I think I need to discuss this with the dentist in detail before they do the left side, which has several fillings needed AND and onlay AND a filling replacement on the bottom.
Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.
I got braces when I was 21 and they took out my wisdom teeth, but they put me under using IV anesthesia, so that was not a big deal.
After I got my braces off (at 22) I immediately stopped going to the dentist, until last week, when I visited the dentist for the first time in 10 years. Unfortunately all that time without proper care had taken it's toll... I need several fillings and deep cleanings on both sides of my mouth.
Last Tuesday they did the right side of my mouth. I prepared myself (with this site!) and read that dentistry had come a long way in 20+ years, things are mostly painless now, etc. And so I took heart that it wouldn't be too bad.
Unfortunately the visit was awful . My top teeth numbed OK, they were able to clean and I couldn't feel anything. I could still feel her digging around on the bottom teeth, but it was bearable. When it came time for the drilling, I told the dentist I was worried because I still had a lot of sensation on the bottom. He gave me some more anesthetic in the outside of my bottom gum, then went to work drilling the cavities on the top teeth.
Once that was all done he started on the bottom teeth, but I could still feel the drilling. He stopped and said they were going to give me more anesthesia, and stuck the needle deep in the gum on the inside of my teeth, near my tongue. That's when I had my first panic attack. It was awful. The needle hurt SO much and I was just freaking out. Once that was done, he told me they were going to fill the top teeth while they let the anesthetic work on my bottom jaw. That probably took about 10 minutes. Then they started drilling again, and that spot was still hurting terribly. He offered more anesthetic but honestly that needle he'd done the previous time hurt worse than the drilling pain, so I just told him to finish it. I had two more panic attacks while they were finishing up. It was just awful.
They've given me Halcion for the next time, but I am still worried about pain control, because it seems I have a history of poorly controlled pain in my bottom jaw, going back to childhood (I remember that specific thing when I was a kid, too - they offered more anesthetic but it hurt worse than the actual procedure).
Any suggestions? I am freaking out, and I think I need to discuss this with the dentist in detail before they do the left side, which has several fillings needed AND and onlay AND a filling replacement on the bottom.
Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.