Nervous for my next appointment

[Alani]

My next appointment is a regular check up and clean plus fixing a failing filling. I have a few questions
1. my last filling I had was extremely uncomfortable I could feel the drilling even though I was numbed twice, is there a reason why I couldn’t get numb? It was like it wore off as soon as the treatment started it was 2 so the first one was fine after about 5 mins I felt a sharp intense pain but it kept happening frequently but was fine after the drilling part was done. I was then numb for almost 5 hrs on my cheek and lips. This is something I’m extremely worried about as I don’t want to feel any pain at all. The injection part was fine I actually didn’t feel any of that probably because he left the topical on for a little longer then he usually does which helped significantly

2. my filling is on the upper right second last back molar, how long should I expect to be numb for and what areas will be numb? Will it be my cheek, lips ect or will it just be my tooth?

lastly this is causing the most anxiety for me and I have a fear of unknown situations is how will this appointment be structured would it be better to do the check up, cleaning, and polishing first without the numbing then do the numbing for the filling? Or vide versa? I would hate to be numb and not being able to rinse and spit properly making a total mess and fool of myself.

would it be beneficial to take paracetamol and ibuprofen before my appointment to help with decreasing the pain incase the Local anaesthetic wears off halfway through? I’m so nervous about This and I’ve already rescheduled the appointment once already I don’t want to keep on putting it off because I’m terrified.

 

[Gordon]

1) Chances are that the injection hadn't had enough time to work, this usually happens because the anaesthetic solution was injected a bit too far from the nerve in the tooth, it's a bit of educated guesswork where the nerve is, it's usually close enough It's unlikely to happen again, especially for an upper molar.

2) Given the above, I'd put the local in first to give a bit longer for it to work. It's an upper molar so the numbness won't affect your lips too much, so rinsing and spitting isn't an issue. I never let patients rinse and spit during treatment, it's pointless and messy

3) No benefit.

 

[Alani]

1) Chances are that the injection hadn't had enough time to work, this usually happens because the anaesthetic solution was injected a bit too far from the nerve in the tooth, it's a bit of educated guesswork where the nerve is, it's usually close enough It's unlikely to happen again, especially for an upper molar.

2) Given the above, I'd put the local in first to give a bit longer for it to work. It's an upper molar so the numbness won't affect your lips too much, so rinsing and spitting isn't an issue. I never let patients rinse and spit during treatment, it's pointless and messy

3) No benefit.

Thank you so much for replying I suspected that it didn’t have enough time to work or It was metabolised since I was numb and didn’t feel much but then it started to be painful. I guess each dentist to their own I once was so numb I missed the sink entirely and it landed all on the floor. I guess that’s what happens when you numb a front top tooth And The opposite lower half that was so embarrassing so I hate that part

 

[Gordon]

I once was so numb I missed the sink entirely and it landed all on the floor. I guess that’s what happens when you numb a front top tooth And The opposite lower half that was so embarrassing so I hate that part

Another reason why I don't let patients spit and rinse. In fact my dental chairs didn't even have the spittoon bowl