Concerned about nausea from Novocaine

[deku_scrub]

The last time I had shots (for deep scaling) I ended up feeling sick for a good 15 minutes. I am already anxious as hell about gagging with having things in my mouth and this is making me dread my appointment on Monday even more. Is there an alternative they can use? I know you can use a numbing gel but I don't know how numb that will make things, especially when there will be drilling going on. I have leg shaking/tremors from previous injections but feeling sick is new to me.

I know I need to go because my teeth are in an awful condition but my vomiting phobia is making me so anxious because of how things were last time. Any help/advice/reassuring words?

 

[FearfulInMA]

I'm not a dentist, but have experienced something similar. It's possible you are having something known as a vasovagal response to the injections. One thing that can help is to lay flat after the injection as long as you need to feel better. With a vasovagal reaction, blood rushes to the arms and legs (away from the heart and brain) in order to prepare to run away. By laying flat (you can raise your knees a bit too) you force the blood back to your heart and brain. Alternatively, dentists have many different types of local anesthetics they can use - talk with her/him about your concerns so that s/he knows your fear.