Pain during deep filling - Anesthetic with non/low adrenaline the cause?

[Nicci]

Long story short : I had a deep filling redone yesterday. It was painful.
I have a low/no adrenaline (?) anesthetic as the usual stuff seemed to give me a racing heart - a previous dentist took my heart rate and said he didn't want to carry on/give me more anesthetic.. hence the low adrenaline stuff now. Maybe it reacts with my medication?
Anyway, I'm assuming it's not as strong or just wore off? Either way, it was painful

Long story:
My 10+ yr old filling first fell out in June, so I had it redone by an NHS dentist..
I saw a private one (as I'm not happy with the NHS one - I need more help than they seem able to give) and she made me aware there was likely decay left behind. It was never really pain free after being redone in June anyway.

The only difference being I felt no pain in June. Yesterday I did. Both at the start and towards the end.

I felt the tail end of the drilling, the cold water as she cleaned it and some sharp shooting pains as she was curing(?) the filling material. I jumped out my skin at one point.. she asked if I was ok, I oddly said 'yes' as if I expected my reaction to be a clear sign of pain. She carried on.

I've been here before. I got turned away by one dentist after he was angry I could still feel pain.. he gave up saying he couldn't give me anymore and told me to see someone else.
Again with another dentist, disbelief I could feel something. And again yesterday - I was hoping she would top up the anesthetic, instead she just said it was "sensitivity".. so I just sat through it, clenching my hands.

I'm now terrified.

This tooth could possibly need RCT if the initial decay reached the nerve.

How on earth can I endure a RCT when I could feel pain from a filling?

 

[MountainMama]

I have had that happen multiple times with different procedures, and now I always inform a dentist that I have difficulty getting numb and staying numb. After a few bad experiences, I have been lucky with dentists that are happy to give another shot if I feel anything. My oral surgeon even watches my facial expressions and asks if I am okay if I grimace.
Your dentist should NOT get angry with you for feeling pain. If so, find another dentist.
When I had to have a root canal, I was terrified that I would feel it when they drilled into the pulp. I ended up opting for using nitrous oxide, as it helps the anasthetic work better. It worked great for me and once she said she was in the pulp and I still couldn’t feel it, I relaxed fully.
If that isn’t an option, maybe ask the dentist, or even your doctor, for an oral sedative. I have done that for an extraction, when nitrous wasn’t available. It helped as well…kind of allows you to relax so the anasthetic works better.