Fear of being numbed

[robbiebee]

Unfortunately the large filling in my first molar has chipped on 2 of the corners. I have been to see my dentist and she has taken an x ray and she thinks the pin which my previous dentist put in when he filled the tooth may of come loose.

I can cope with having a filling but being numbed is freaking me out. In the past she has done fillings without numbing me.

Is it okay to explain my fear to my dentist and ask if she can start the filling without numbing me and if the pain becomes too much I can ask to be numbed?

 

[Gordon]

Sure you can, why not?

Is the issue with the local the sensation of being numb or the getting the injection bit?

 

[robbiebee]

Thank you Gordon, the issue is with the sensation of being numb

 

[Gordon]

In that case, you could ask them to try something like a Wand to numb the tooth without numbing the surrounding area then. It's called "Intraligamental anaesthesia", it can work quite well for fillings, I'd be less keen on trying it for an extraction.

 

[robbiebee]

Hi I explain to my dentist my fear of being numb and my past experience with a different dentists. She totally understood but as the filling was very big she recommended I was numbed. What made it easier was that she told me that she disliked being numbed too but she would want to be numbed for this filling. She was very gentle in injecting me and I hardly felt a thing. The treatment was okay and the filling looks great. The numbness wore off reasonably quickly and I didn’t feel as numb as I had done previously

 

[Gordon]

Thanks for updating and I'm glad it went well for you.