Terrified of being numbed up need some advice support

[silvercat]

Hi I have been posting in the ask a dentist section about this but have decided to post here to see if anyone can help. I have never had a fear of the dentist I go every 6 months Im not bothered by the cleaning and the last few filllings I have had done have been done without local, however the reson for this is Im terrified of being numbed up I absolutely hate the feeling it just freaks me out. I have been told I need a crown and for this I will deffinately need numbed up it has sent me into a spiral of pure fear and panic so much so that I cannot sleep properly and am having severe anxiety and panic attacks about it.

I had an appointment last week to have this done with my now old dentist who was willing to try without numbing me up but I bottled it, she was very bolshy and had zero time to explain the procedure or try to calm my nerves then informed me that as I had refused the treatment she would not offer me another appointment for the same problem. I left in a state of bewilderment she had been my dentist for 6 year we always got on fine then she just turned into to a bitch with zero empathy or paitent care.

I have since seen another dentist who agreed I need the crown but he would not feel comfortable doing it without numbing me up. Since then I have been totally freaking out I am literaly terrified (I suffer from anxiety and depression) and this has just triggered a relapse. My fear has not been helped by the fact that I take a low dose of proprananol 10-20mg per day and there is loads of info online about the dangers of getting a local with adrenaline in it whilst taking a beta blocker (which proprananol is). I have been told on here in the ask a dentsit section and by my dentist that it is safe but even the BNF web site says there is the risk of a dangerous interaction causing very very high blood pressure so I cannot put my mind at ease. I know there are locals with no adrenaline in them but my new dentist says he would rather used the one with as it provides better effects.

I just dont know what to do I feel trapped in an impossible situation and I have zero quality of life at the moment as it has crippled my mental health sorry for the long post im just lost and in a very very dark place over this so any advice/help or suggestions will be really appreciated thanks Owain

 

[just a terrified guy]

Hi
Two of my teeth with “small” cavities were drilled out without numb and the drill was painful. Thus, I “prefer” to be numbed before a dental treatment. However I close my eyes when the dentist prepare the syringe. The needle is long but very fine and shots are usually not painful.

 

[letsconnect]

Hi Owain, maybe try and speak to the dentist again and let him know exactly how scared you are about the potential adrenaline-proprananol interaction. Sure he might prefer the local with epinephrine because it's more reliable in his hands, but there's no reason as to why he couldn't get you numb without it (might take a little more local anaesthetic, but at least it would help with your worry about the potential interaction).

With regards to your fear about the numbing sensation, is it that you are afraid that feeling numb will set off a panic attack? Or something else?

 

[silvercat]

Hi @letsconnect yep you hit the nail on the head that is exactly my fear. I know my heart rate will be up anyway and Im terrified of what my reaction to any local will be. Im also scared of the length of the procedure. Ive had locals before and several General anaesthetics in my life and never had any reactions to any of them so that should reasssure me but its not. I suppose I have created this fear myself by not being numbed for all my filings for the last 20 years. Now Im more stressed about the local than anything. Several of those fillings by the way the Dentist said I would need numbed up for and yes they were painful and sore but only for a few seconds at a time and I am more than happy to endure that than the feeling of being numbed up.

As I said before I know this all stems from my horrendous wisdom tooth extraction those two horrendous huge injections right in the back of my mouth then my gums being cut with a scalpel (I feel shaky typing this). I've tried talking to my Dentist but he's been too busy to speak to me and now he's a holiday for two weeks. I'm tempted to go see anoither Dentist but I can't afford it

 

[letsconnect]

I might have posted these links before in one of your other threads, I'm not sure - but in case I didn't, these might be of interest:

Fear of Feeling Numb

Are you scared of the numb feeling you get from local anaesthetic injections at the dentist's? This page provides lots of practical tips and advice!

www.dentalfearcentral.org

Allergy or Bad Reactions to Local Anaesthetics

Have you had a bad reaction to local anaesthetic? Do you think you may be allergic to lidocaine? Find out all about the causes and possible solutions!

www.dentalfearcentral.org

Fear of Panic Attacks

Are you scared of having a panic attack while at the dentist's? This page explains panic attacks and how to deal with them.

www.dentalfearcentral.org

I've tried talking to my Dentist but he's been too busy to speak to me and now he's a holiday for two weeks.

That sucks ... hopefully once he's back you'll be able to have a chat with him? It could also help to put your concerns/wishes in writing and send him an email. I don't think any conscientious dentist would do a crown prep without local anaesthetic because it's precision work so they'll want you to be painfree rather than potentially flinch or squirm during a crucial moment... and presumably, you'll want the best possible, longest-lasting result... but it should be possible to use a local without epi if you're really concerned about this.

As I said before I know this all stems from my horrendous wisdom tooth extraction those two horrendous huge injections right in the back of my mouth then my gums being cut with a scalpel (I feel shaky typing this).

That sounds terribly traumatic - I'm certain that your next experience of numbing won't be anything like that

 

[Bruno]

I gather this is mainly British dentists you're dealing with and so I sympathise. I have PTSD over my treatments in the UK back in the late 1950s. Now, is it being numb you're afraid of or just the injections? Here in Mexico the injections are almost painless. You should insist that your dentist uses a topical anaesthetic to numb the injection site(s) prior to giving the local. This is simply a swab soaked in anaesthetic gel placed on the gum to numb it. I do hope British dentists have learned to do this but I'm not optimistic given my own horrific experiences.

 

[Jackieallen]

I gather this is mainly British dentists you're dealing with and so I sympathise. I have PTSD over my treatments in the UK back in the late 1950s. Now, is it being numb you're afraid of or just the injections? Here in Mexico the injections are almost painless. You should insist that your dentist uses a topical anaesthetic to numb the injection site(s) prior to giving the local. This is simply a swab soaked in anaesthetic gel placed on the gum to numb it. I do hope British dentists have learned to do this but I'm not optimistic given my own horrific experiences.

Never heard of this in uk sounds like the answer to all our fears