The Wand - is it meant to hurt?

[mouthsewnshut]

Hello,

I had one experience with the Wand, a little while back, but it hurt. A lot. I am off to the dentist later and I am worried that he will use that again (same tooth) and the needles are no better for me. Is it the wand or his technique or what? Anyone had that feedback? I am going out of my mind with fear Any feedback would be appreciated

 

[Gordon]

It's not meant to hurt, so something isn't right. They can be a bit tricky to get the hang of at first, so hopefully the dentist has had more practice since then.

 

[mouthsewnshut]

Thank you for your reply Gordon. I went, it didn't require numbing luckily, but I did mention that the Wand really hurt when he used it and would it be possible to maybe apply a bit less pressure in future and he said no, that's how it is because of where it is, near my lower wisdom tooth.

 

[otissito]

It sounds as though this is a mandibular block. These in general are not very comfortable injections (probably the worst aside from palatal injections), but having had them with The Wand myself (an original model too as opposed to one of the newer ones) they are better with The Wand than the "horse needle" as we will call it.

The type of anesthetic used can also affect things - this is usually Lidocaine with Epinephrine, and it can sting going in. You can always ask them to use Mepivacaine 3% Plain next time - this one doesn't sting like Lidocaine does, plus it has the advantage of being shorter acting (gives them around 40 minutes to work, and you can expect it to be completely worn off after approximately 3 1/2 hours from the time of the shot). This drug is good for mandibular blocks, but not so great for anything else because it is very short acting otherwise. Your dentist likely won't have a problem using it for a mandibular block because it has the same effectiveness as Lidocaine for mandibular blocks - just a shorter duration of action.