Tooth for root canal won't go numb whatever dentist tries

[I6Y5]

Hi there folks,

So I need some advice, basically about how to train myself to withstand the immediate and very sharp pain involved in drilling during a root canal procedure, because it seems my tooth won't go numb no matter how much anesthetic my dentist applies.

The tooth in question is a lower first bicuspid. I was first given a week of antibiotics, and I don't feel any general pain anymore, at night or otherwise. Which seemed like a good sign. But in two separate appointments now the dentist has tried increasingly stronger anesthetics (sorry don't remember their names), but the tooth won't go numb, and every time he tries drilling, I feel severe sharp pain. Had an hour and a half of this today, and...man.

What is more, while I experience some numbness on my lips, the entire effect is gone less than an hour in, while he says I should still feel the anesthetic for like three hours. He says this is only the second or third time in his entire career he has seen this. He is saying that next time he will try some special paste that will supposedly kill the nerve, but truth be told I don't think its the nerve itself that's the problem, but I'm just special enough to be largely immune to anesthetics. If it's in any way related, not that I'm a heavy or often drinker, but it's very hard to get me buzzed at all with alcohol. It seems I have some kind of immunity to senses-numbing substances.

So I suppose my only option is to somehow train myself to bear the pain, but it is so sharp and so sudden that my body just naturally jerks away, I can't help it. I have tried at home regimens with garlic, green tea, salt water moutwash etc. but I guess they didn't help. So what else can I do?

I realize as I type this I may be asking an impossible question...can anyone be trained to withstand such pain? And in 10 days time - which is my next appointment?

So yeah. Any comments or advice appreciated. Thanks, and happy Easter.

 

[Aussiewuss]

Can he do sleep sedation? Or some super strong pain killers from the doctor. The guy at work did it when he was young, said the only time he passed out from pain.

my dentist changed some old fillings, we used no pain killers and the pain lasted 10 seconds, felt like it lasted 10 minutes.

 

[Angeldove]

Is this what normally happens when you have had this area numbed? Perhaps the doctor isn't putting the needle in the right spot.

One dentist put the needle closer to where my jawbone meets my skull and that numbed me right away. Was painful because the doc hit some nerves while doing it, but I was completely numbed within 3 minutes and stayed numb for 3 hours. Jaw was sore though.

I went earlier this week for a root canal and a different dentist did it differently and it took a much longer time and two needles before I was properly numbed in the same area.

 

[I6Y5]

Is this what normally happens when you have had this area numbed? Perhaps the doctor isn't putting the needle in the right spot.

One dentist put the needle closer to where my jawbone meets my skull and that numbed me right away. Was painful because the doc hit some nerves while doing it, but I was completely numbed within 3 minutes and stayed numb for 3 hours. Jaw was sore though.

I went earlier this week for a root canal and a different dentist did it differently and it took a much longer time and two needles before I was properly numbed in the same area.

He tried different techniques I think, including one directly into the nerve (which hurt like hell) but even that did nothing.

I suppose the main fear I have is....even if this cream/paste does kill the nerve, which I believe would make it a dead tooth...is it possible I might still feel pain during the root canal? Logically it seems impossible that a tooth with a dead nerve should feel anything, but with my body nothing would surprise me.

 

[Angeldove]

He tried different techniques I think, including one directly into the nerve (which hurt like hell) but even that did nothing.

When I'm super nervous and my heart is racing I find that it takes a lot longer and a lot more injections to get me numbed up. Does that happen to you? Have you been able to take a sedative orally before going to the dentist?

I suppose the main fear I have is....even if this cream/paste does kill the nerve, which I believe would make it a dead tooth...is it possible I might still feel pain during the root canal? Logically it seems impossible that a tooth with a dead nerve should feel anything, but with my body nothing would surprise me.

Some of our teeth have more than 1 nerve - like in this picture:

So if you have a tooth that has 1 root, it will have 1 nerve. With a molar, it will have 4 nerves. On my recent root canal, I could tell 3 nerves were dead and 1 was fighting. I was numbed up and I didn't feel a thing when the dentist was working with the 3 dead ones. He started cleaning out the one live one and I had enough pain that my toes were wiggling and I started praying. Once he cleaned it out (about 20 seconds of pain), it all stopped hurting.

Drilling and touching your gums, etc may cause you to feel pain and at the very least pressure. I had some minor discomfort when he told me he had to pull my gum back a bit, so you might still experience pain if you're not completely numbed up. (Each dentist I've seen keeps telling me to let them know right away if I have any pain - just raise my hand- and they will stop to address the pain.) But this was my 3rd root canal (so I know the procedure well), the dentist was a sweetheart and very gentle, and so I really didn't have too much to complain about. (I think my temp crown is off a bit- the bite isn't perfect but I'm not sure if that's because I still am swelling a bit - nothing that Advil can't handle, so I'm giving it a few more days before I decide)

When I'm in pain, my anxiety and fear wrecks my whole body - I normally have to "check in" with each part of my body throughout a procedure to make sure I'm not tensing it. That's why I prefer (demand? ) that I'm thoroughly numbed up before starting - I would rather have another needle and a longer time before the stuff wears off than being in pain. I would keep working with my dentist if I couldn't be properly numbed up- I don't think it is fair for the patient to be in pain while being worked on.

 

[I6Y5]

When I'm super nervous and my heart is racing I find that it takes a lot longer and a lot more injections to get me numbed up. Does that happen to you? Have you been able to take a sedative orally before going to the dentist?



Some of our teeth have more than 1 nerve - like in this picture:

So if you have a tooth that has 1 root, it will have 1 nerve. With a molar, it will have 4 nerves. On my recent root canal, I could tell 3 nerves were dead and 1 was fighting. I was numbed up and I didn't feel a thing when the dentist was working with the 3 dead ones. He started cleaning out the one live one and I had enough pain that my toes were wiggling and I started praying. Once he cleaned it out (about 20 seconds of pain), it all stopped hurting.

Drilling and touching your gums, etc may cause you to feel pain and at the very least pressure. I had some minor discomfort when he told me he had to pull my gum back a bit, so you might still experience pain if you're not completely numbed up. (Each dentist I've seen keeps telling me to let them know right away if I have any pain - just raise my hand- and they will stop to address the pain.) But this was my 3rd root canal (so I know the procedure well), the dentist was a sweetheart and very gentle, and so I really didn't have too much to complain about. (I think my temp crown is off a bit- the bite isn't perfect but I'm not sure if that's because I still am swelling a bit - nothing that Advil can't handle, so I'm giving it a few more days before I decide)

When I'm in pain, my anxiety and fear wrecks my whole body - I normally have to "check in" with each part of my body throughout a procedure to make sure I'm not tensing it. That's why I prefer (demand? ) that I'm thoroughly numbed up before starting - I would rather have another needle and a longer time before the stuff wears off than being in pain. I would keep working with my dentist if I couldn't be properly numbed up- I don't think it is fair for the patient to be in pain while being worked on.

Thanks. Yeah, I suppose I do not know how many nerves the tooth has. My dentist seems to think there's one, that's why the special paste is supposed to kill it or whatever....though shouldn't it kill any and all nerves inside?

I'm nervous before going to the dentist, but when I'm actually in the chair it goes away. Or at least that used to be the case before the latest episodes with this severe pain. If the tooth is dead and yet I still need anesthetic...since nothing has worked so far, I guess I'm in trouble.

 

[Angeldove]

Thanks. Yeah, I suppose I do not know how many nerves the tooth has. My dentist seems to think there's one, that's why the special paste is supposed to kill it or whatever....though shouldn't it kill any and all nerves inside?

If you do a Google image search for the tooth, you should be able to figure out how many roots it has. One of the things I did to help myself cope with my long list of things to get fixed in my mouth is to print out a tooth labeling sheet and highlight which teeth need to be worked on, then write in next to the teeth what needs to be done (based on my care plan my dentist gave me). A lot less stressed out now that I know what teeth are being worked on and what exactly they're doing. It is a lot of work, but I was thinking like 90% of my teeth needed to be worked on when it really is just like 7, if I don't count the 2 wisdom teeth that need to be extracted.

I'm nervous before going to the dentist, but when I'm actually in the chair it goes away. Or at least that used to be the case before the latest episodes with this severe pain. If the tooth is dead and yet I still need anesthetic...since nothing has worked so far, I guess I'm in trouble.

Most procedures are done within an hour - not all of that is the dentist actually working on your tooth. An hour (or less) of pain to me is better than major health issues down the road (and longer, more intense pain too) from letting a bad tooth just fester in your mouth and being anxious about it the whole time. It sucks - don't get me wrong, but like I said before I hope you and your dentist can figure out a way for you to be pain free (or you might consider getting a second opinion to be honest).

 

[gentledental]

I have NEVER had any problems numbing a lower first premolar before. My first injection would be a mental bock and usually this would be enough, however if the patient is still not entirely numb then I would follow this with an inferior dental block which will numb the entire half of the jaw including the tip of your tongue. If the nerve is still alive and is super inflamed then an intrapulpal injection will do the trick but this is a little uncomfortable.

 

[I6Y5]

Yeah. My dentist is very surprised too. I don't think he's doing something wrong, I mean he has a full list of patients each week, does this procedure countless of times. So I suppose the only natural explanation is that my jaw and nerves are wired so differently that the injections can't take effect.

I guess if his next method of this nerve-killing paste doesn't work I'll be forced to see another dentist, but...

 

[thorpey]

Hi there,
my previous dentist tried to do a root canal a few years ago( not the same tooth I have recently had problems with that I have posted about on here). Anyway I had the same experience and the tooth would not go numb fully either.(felt numb but could feel pain when drilling)He put some paste on mine to kill the nerve and that didn't work either and ended up extracting it.
in hindsight I wish now I had gone for sedation but I didn't ask about it and they did not offer it as an option.
i had an infection on the nerve of the tooth.
I hope they manage to be able to sort it out for you. It might be worth asking for sedation ?
what I couldn't understand was how they could numb the tooth to extract it but not numb it for a root canal?

 

[comfortdentist]

It can be a little more difficult to numb a tooth for RCT compared to an extraction. What you need is persistence with excellent technique I would combine that with IV sedation at this time.

 

[I6Y5]

Hi there,
my previous dentist tried to do a root canal a few years ago( not the same tooth I have recently had problems with that I have posted about on here). Anyway I had the same experience and the tooth would not go numb fully either.(felt numb but could feel pain when drilling)He put some paste on mine to kill the nerve and that didn't work either and ended up extracting it.
in hindsight I wish now I had gone for sedation but I didn't ask about it and they did not offer it as an option.
i had an infection on the nerve of the tooth.
I hope they manage to be able to sort it out for you. It might be worth asking for sedation ?
what I couldn't understand was how they could numb the tooth to extract it but not numb it for a root canal?

Wow. Well good to know that others have some experience with this too, but too bad the paste didn't work for you. My dentist says he is confident the paste will do the job, but with how stubborn my teeth are, I'm not sure it will. He hasn't mentioned sedation before, but I suppose that will have to be the next step. I wish the nerve could die by itself, or that somehow I could not react to the sharp pain.