Anesthetic needles painful?

[mayze]

Hi all i am due to go back to the dentist tomorrow for my crown fitting. I have been told i will not be having a needle but i have read on the delightful internet (bad idea i know!) that this may not be the case. I am terrified of the dentist anyway. it also of needles. I have only ever heard horror stories about dental jabs so i’m even more scared. So my question is do they hurt? if so how bad? My tooth is a top molar.

 

[krlovesherkids777]

Mayze,

I hear you, I so understand the fear of needles, I was so scared for years . It may not take away your initial fear but I can encourage you that most of the time I can't tell I even got a shot .There are times there is just a slight pinch but nothing too bad and all my shots have been upper and most molar. They give you some gel that makes the surface numb , before they even give you any needle and that helps alot. Its still a scary thing with needles.. Most dentists and assistants really understand how hard this is and do their best to help you through! My dentist has me close my eyes so I don't see it coming and it does help. They can especially help you if you let them know how scared you are.

Also now I believe from what I hear and know with my dentist , they are really trained well to give as much of pain free anesthtics as possible. in a lot of ways, just in skill and delivery and little tools like the topical gel, its much easier than it was years ago when some of those videos were made.

You did a great job doing the extraction already and hope you can give it a try tomorrow. Hopes they are very patient and kind with you, sounds like they have been and you've had a good experience..but go easy on yourself one step at a time! and maybe you won't even need the needle.

 

[Dr. Daniel]

Hi,

There are several kinds of fear of needle: Are you afraid just from the sight of a needle (even seeing one on screen) or are you afraid of feeling the needle, or is it the idea of having a needle? Each kind of fear can be dealt differently.

Generally speaking, I can tell you there are ways to make sure you don't feel a thing, or nearly anything (certainly not pain). What is common to all these ways is that the dentist has to invest time to achieve a pain free numbing. It may take a few minutes but it is worth it.

More food for thought: the local anesthetics is not always mandatory. You can decide whether you want to have it or not. In some cases, certainly when making a dental crown, it is OK to do it without anaesthetics. It might cause discomfort or pain but it is the patient's choice. A dentist usually prefers to work with anaesthetics because then the patient is more relaxed and it is easier to work, but I again, the anaesthetics is for the patient's comfort, not the dentist's.

 

[Dg6300]

Oh no, it isn’t nearly as bad as you’ve heard.

I find it more annoying than painful.

Good luck. You’ll do great.

 

[mayze]

Thank you everyone i feel a lot better about it now. I am still super nervous but i am not so frightened. I think it is a mixture of fear of seeing the needle coming and the anticipation of it hurting. Blood tests etc i am ok as long as i don’t look. I think it’s mainly my fear of the dentist that makes the needle even more of a worry. I will take my anxiety meds this morning and fingers crossed it helps with some of the symptoms.

 

[Enarete]

If you are ok with blood tests, you will absolutely be fine with dental needles. The tissue in your mouth is very different to skin and dental needles are a lot thinner so that the process is much much easier than a needle on any other area of your body. As krlovesherkids and Dr.Daniel suggest, there are areas in your mouth where it's even possible to numb you up without you noticing a thing.

It might be a good idea to let your dentist know that seeing the needle coming would stress you out so that you would prefer not to. The most dentists are used to work below the sight line to make sure you won't spot any instruments that might arise your anxiety and this is even more important when it comes to numbing.
Additionally it might be a good idea to look as far up as you can during that process to make sure not to spot anything - that's what I do when it comes to needles.

All the best wishes and let us know how you got on

 

[Dg6300]

You got this!

You are going to surprise us all, most of all yourself.

We are looking forward to your update.

 

[mayze]

Keep your fingers crossed for me tomorrow everyone as it’s crown fitting day. Shouldn’t need anesthetic but hopefully if i do it’s ok. So scared!

 

[krlovesherkids777]

Mayze, I will hope and send positive thoughts you will either not need it or you will not feel it. I can tell you I got a crown fitting this last week. I did get the anesthetic but I asked for it, as I know my dentist I barely feel a pinch. He gave me like maybe 3 or 4 and I felt maybe like 3 seconds of a slight pinch but barely at all. Dentists now are trained so well to give nearly or painfree anesthetic and most are very sensitive to the patient in this regard. So hoping all goes well let us know. And it really helps if you just remind them how scared and concerned abuot this you are and they will take extra care !

 

[gamergirl123]

Not really. Just a small pinch or sometimes nothing at all. I've gotten multiple over the course of my dental journey plus the stuff since then and it really doesn't bother me.

They usually use a topical numbing gel first so you won't feel the needle as much.

 

[mayze]

No anesthetic was needed in the end but thank you so much for all your kind words and support it really helped me xxx

 

[krlovesherkids777]

Mayze,

So happy to hear and hope it all went well for you and you get a beautiful crown in the end !