All my life, I've had finicky nerves that don't line up to any dental map. My first dentist didn't care if I could feel the drill so he just proceeded. My second dentist shot me so full of Novocaine that my ears were numb. I'm onto my third dentist and I had my first filling with him this morning.
It took a while to numb me but once my jaw and lip were dead, we thought it was safe to proceed. A couple minutes into drilling he hit a spot that I could completely feel. The shock of that pain made me flail a bit. He stopped and told me he'd avoid the area to let the Novocaine spread. Back in he went and he found another nerve ending that was alive and well. So, we took a time out and he shot me full of more Novocaine. I like him and I trust his dental expertise but I was already nervous about getting a filling so having an aching jaw from painful nerve endings made me pretty tense.
After a while, the third time he went in for drilling was better but there were points where I could still feel pain. But I had made a decision. I wanted to get this over with and I had endured worse and more life threatening pain so I would suck it up when he hit feeling parts. I only let my eyes widen or nostrils flare in reaction to pain. The hygienist saw every flinch but the dentist thought the second round of Novocaine was really working. Ha! I am stoic. Breathing and repeating a mantra helped a lot.
Now I'm back home with a numb tongue that feels as big as a boa constrictor. I have two more filling to look forward to next Tuesday. Oh joy! I am Sparta.
1 comment:
I have the EXACT same problem - I finally found one dentist that recognized it and knew what it was... so after 30 years of avoiding the dentist I spent the better part of Jan/Feb/Mar in the chair getting all of my work done.
You should tell your dentist to look into it. I can't remember the really long medical term my dentist used, but basically you have a casing around your nerve that "protects" it from novocain.
And, ask for white fillings because they don't have to drill as deep to set them - plus they look better.
Good luck!
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