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My fear is a little unusual

U

unusualpredicament

Junior member
Joined
Apr 24, 2018
Messages
2
So, this is a long story, sort of. Until I was 16 I was fine with dentists. A little edgy about needles, but fine with the dentist

When I was 16, a dentist gave me my first ever numbing injection (I think it's lidocaine we use here in the UK on the NHS) to give me a filling and then started to drill - It hadn't worked. I told her, and then counted 27 individual needle pricks going into my gum. She tried again, I still felt it.

She went bananas. Screaming and yelling about how I'm making it up, it's hypochondria, and then i became terrified of dentists.

I avoided dentists until I was 21 and my teeth were in such bad condition (due to lack of self-care through depression and an awful, awful diet) that I couldn't eat or sleep or drink because of the decay. I went to the dentist, and it was terrifying but I managed to get through seven teeth being pulled. Of the first five of those, the anesthetic worked and it helped ease my fear. The sixth? Wore off at the end. I felt the pain before the tooth became loose and by the time I had left the dentists office I was crying with the pain but didn't tell him. The next time I went back to start on my fillings, the anesthetic worked. The next two treatments (deep cleaning and minor surface filling) the anesthetic worked. When I next went back to get a filling, it did not. I told him and he seemed extremely confused.

When I got my wisdom tooth pulled I had to go to the sedation clinic as sedation isn't something my dentist offers. I was sedated very quickly because I started to have panic attacks as soon as I got in the room.


I felt the prick of the local. It didn't work. However I was so panicked - even after sedation - I didn't do anything about it. I remember being terrified and crying the entire way through, and even for twenty minutes afterwards. It didn't feel like I'd been given sedation. I remember the entire thing, I remember the pain. I remember leaving the room on shaky legs, still in tears and staving off more panic attacks.

I guess I'm lucky, of sorts. I'm not afraid of the dentists, the drill, the injections - my fear is the anaesthetic not working. Whenever I've had it, one of three things happens: It works completely, it doesn't work at all, or it works for a very, very short period of time. This happens in other situations (receiving staples/stitches at the hospital). Tonight, I've realized that one of my teeth is about to fall out. Half of it is completely away from the gum and some of it is still connected, much like a child losing a baby tooth. I've come to the realization that I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT ignore this and that it's imperative I go to the dentist.

Has anyone else had similar problems with local anastetic? And, as a little side question, can ones teeth be 'prone' to rotting, even if diligent with hygeine? No matter how much I brush my teeth, even if it's every day, I still get cavities and broken teeth.
 
You are using a strange mix of UK and USA vocabulary :confused:.
We have a whole section on 'Can't get Numb'
https://www.dentalfearcentral.org/fears/not-numb/. it should shed quite a lot of light if you have a read. Are you a redhead by any chance? There are 4 main reasons though - do read it.

Obviously you need to be careful who you allow to treat you - that NHS dentist was a dangerous loon - 27 infiltrations is ridiculous and her reaction totally unprofessional. Not your fault you then avoided dentists as a result.
You need full control to stop things if numbing wears off and you likely need much larger doses than average for LA to work or maybe not as you were numb for lots of things - could just be dentist misdirecting the LA which is one of the reasons.
Find yourself an experienced caring dentist. You could also look up poster 'bluestringpudding'.

Re your last question, I would say yes there must be some dietary and/or genetic component to dental health I would have thought.
Best wishes
Brit
 
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A dentist is supposed to provide adequate pain relief and there is no need to 'grin and bear it'. If you are not numb it is best to not allow treatment to go ahead/continue.
 
Hi Brit! Thanks for replying so quickly!

Yes, my vocabulary is strange. Blame it on having spent more time writing with Americans than with Brits, but having grammarly set on British English :giggle:

I do currently have a fantastic dentist who allows me to stop whenever I need to, however i'm also one to grin and bear it - for me, the anxiety leading up to the procedure makes it feel almost unworthy for me to stop the treatment and have to face that anxiety another day, as well as anxiety about wasting the dentists time. (I know that's a lot of anxiety - I'm undergoing treatment for an anxiety disorder)

Re the article:
I'm not a redhead although I carry the gene, and while I don't have EDS I DO have hypermobility syndrome. Anxiety could well be a contributing fact in the LA wearing off in the dentists, however when I get stitches at the hospital I'm not anxious whatsoever and it can also wear off. Hm, food for thoughts.

I will look up that poster, thank you very much!
 
Looks like all 4 reasons could be involved/have been involved on the various occasions.
Suggest you make people aware in advance for all things/medical and dental.
You are totally within your rights to stop treatment - a decent dentist wouldn't want to be causing unnecessary pain in any event, it is bad for business when you tell everyone else!
Interesting and unfortunate that the i/v sedation didn't work for you either.
Probably best to stay in control and just use local anyway.
 
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