Can’t make up my mind
Yesterday I went and saw the dentist again. He told me we would be taking care of a small restoration. I asked him how small it was, how deep he would need to drill and how long it would take for him to complete the process. To what did these questions turn, you ask? Why to my hair brained idea that maybe I wanted to go without local anesthetic of course.
You see, me and anesthetic don’t mix. They shoot me with the stuff and my heart races and I feel so icky and panicky the whole time. And then my lip is fat for hours afterward and my face itches but I can’t feel myself scratching, etc. I honestly hate the feeling of local anesthesia more than being in labor.
So I told him to start drilling and we would see how it went. Yes, I am completely nuts I think. But he drilled as far as he needed to, going slowly and the pain was minimal. It just made me jump at times it was so sudden and cold. But it really wasn’t bad. When he had finished prepping me for the filling I was very proud of myself. I figured I had weathered the worst, oh naive dental patient that I am.
But then he told me he was going to have to put this metal thing between my teeth up next to my gums. He slid it up there and it pinched my gums and right away it hurt worse than the drilling had. But though the pain was intense it was fleeting once the thing was secured. Then he told me he was going to have to drive a tiny wedge between my teeth. He showed me this little blue thing that looked like it had been carved out of a toothpick. No problem right. Wrong!
He started to push it in, and Holy %$#*&*&#$ %$&*@&%*$!
I’ve never passed out, I don’t know what it feels like, but I thought I might do it. He saw me arching my back and drove it in real quick. I felt all warm and woozy with pain for a moment but then it started dulling and I thought I could keep going. Then he had to stretch a rubber dam over everything and that tugged on the metal thing pinching my gums again and it really really really really hurt. But I had come this far without local anesthetic and I was NOT GIVING IN. Finally it was time to fill the tooth and that didn’t bug me at all. Then he removed all the crap killing my gums and the pain was pretty much gone right away. And I was smiling. Because I didn’t have a numb face.
Will I do it again? I can’t decide. I am leaning towards not, however. I must choose the lesser of two evils and now I’m thinking it’s the anesthesia. Maybe it doesn’t always work on my teeth but it’s definitely always worked on my gums, which is where the real pain is people. Trust me.
EDWARD YOUR A HAMSOME GUY ALL IM ASKING IS FOR BELLA TO HAVE THE BABY AND PUT...
You’re OUTTA you MIND!!!!! ha!
Wo. You are C to the RAZY! I remember when they gave me laughing gas when I had my wisdom teeth out. It was awesome. You are the bravest person I know! I would rather go through labor than do what you did! Seriously. I’ve given birth naturally twice but I would never ever do what you did!
Oh. My.
I don’t know…I might do the same in your situation but still…wow!
Wow. WOW! I can’t even imagine going without… you are either the bravest or craziest person evah! :) I’m glad that it’s over… hopefully you won’t have to have dental work done again for a LONG time!!
I feel for you soooo much. Going to the dentist is like slow, painful death to me.
My choice would be not to return to the dentist.
Actually, I’m thinking next time, I’ll just bring a baseball bat… (ha, ha!)
Oh my goodness. I hate medication, but I wouldn’t even consider going without local anesthesia at the dentist! You are one brave (crazy) woman! I was wincing just at the description…
Wowza. Yeah….as someone who is all for natural childbirth, I would still NEVER dream of doing no anesthesia during dental procedures. Freaks me out!! (I watched Cast Away again the other day, and the part where Tom Hanks has to knock out his tooth because it’s so painful….ughh, one of the worst parts of the movie!!)
You’re right, though, the gum stuff can *seriously* hurt. My teeth are pretty tight…and I really hate just the simplest thing of going in for cleanings and ending up with a rough hygienist. All the pinches to the gums, the rough flossing… it ends up hurting me for a couple days. Not fun!!
And you know, my husband, his mother, and maybe one or two of his siblings, all have tricky nerves. His mother especially. They have to do a shot in a really specific point for it to have the right effect on her. I certainly wouldn’t dismiss the possibility of “crossed nerves” so easily if I were a dentist!
As for your decision, good luck! I hate the feeling of being numb, too, and it usually takes what seems like forever to wear off. Still, in my opinion, you were incredibly brave to try no anesthesia at all!
ew, summer. i am sick to my stomach reading this. dentist offices gross me out significantly. i have no advice for you since i hate anesthesia as well. sorry!
Oh my goodness, you are one tough cookie. I cringed just reading the darn post.
My mouth hurts.
You are a brave, crazy woman.
Oh, this post brought back memories I have of an awful dental experience I had while I was pregnant for my now 5 year old. I haven’t been back since and I know I need to get over it and return. maybe I can be inspired by you.
My mouth hurts now.
I have to find a new dentist and I’ve been putting it off for several reasons. Which of course, makes things worse in the long run. Sigh…
OW!!!!! You cuckoo bird! Novocaine is a good thing : D
All I could think of the whole time you told this story was CAVEMEN! ARE YOU CRAZY GIRL? I have been to the dentist waaaaayyy too much my whole life and I can’t imagine going through anything without some sort of numbing drugs - you are my SUPER HERO! I’m glad it is over for now - hope you are well today. Kellan
Summer! You are CRAZY!!!! I hate the numbing stuff but I really hate pain more! You are very BRAVE though! Way to go! I was in pain just reading this. My teeth hurt and I need to go to the dentist but I think I will have to wait until I forget about all the pain I just now felt in my own mouth while reading this post!
I can totally understand, although I don’t know if I would dare do it. The last time I was numbed it did not wear off for 16 hours. I was so scared it was going to be permanent! I hate chewing on my own tong and feeling like my lip is a Bubba Gump lip. It is awful! But I still don’t think I could ever go without!
You are FAR braver than I!!!
The more anesthetic the better!
Bradley
The Egel Nest
Unbelievable! I know people who require gas for cleanings. No local anesthetic…ack!
I saw a man at the dentist once that was using magnets instead of anesthesia to which he was allergic. He said he has had surgery with the use of magnets. Does that fall in with ‘Your faith will make you whole’
Oh my goodness! Is everyone going to the dentist at the same time? I was on the Dentist just this past Wednesday, and it was NOT a pleasant experience, either.
I just discovered you through Kimberly and I’ve had fun reading down your list of posts.
When I read this I just have to comment. The thing that makes you shaky is the epinephrine that they put with the lidocaine that makes it last longer. You can ask them for the stuff without it. I was a dental assistant for a couple of years, 10 years ago. I forget what it was called, but we used it on my mother when she came in because she couldn’t handle the epinephrine.
Something I found out on my own when I was a teenager to get rid of numbness is to exercise! I got home with a very numb lip, and went outside to jump rope. The numbness went away in a lot less time, I’m thinking it was around a half an hour? It makes sense, you get your blood moving and it can take away the medication faster.