I have had dental anethesia in the past without problems. Today, I had work on a lower back molar that was worse than childbirth.

The dentist could not numb the tooth enough. It was the lower right 2nd molar. He must have injected me 10 times over 2 hrs. I was so anxious by the time it was over I didn't have the sense to ask what anesthetic he was using. We finally agreed that he would work 2 minutes and then stop. If I felt it, he would inject me and let me sit a few minutes before starting again. He was frustrated and I know his other patients appointments were affected.

Now, my jaw is aching from so many injections.

I am NOT a weenie. Advice?

2 hydrocodone + 4 ibuprofin. That's my best advice. lol

I've been dealing with a tooth that will be pulled next week, and I very literally feel your pain. I've never had a situation that took that many shots to rectify, though.

Do they offer the gas where you are? I grew up with gas, but the state I live in now doesn't 'do' the gas. It made all the difference between a good and bad dental experience to me as a kid!

Thanks for responding. Gl with your dental problems.

I don't know if he uses gas or not. I am not a fan of not being in control, so I don't know if I am a fan of that. I am considering asking for Vicodine or Xanax (which I have never taken) to see if anxiety played a role in anethesia resistance.

I moved last year and this is my first appointment (2nd counting the exam) with this dentist. I don't think it was operator error. I am sure it is me and my body. I have been asking the google machine and it seems some people don't respond to anesthetics if they are anxious. I did not go into to procedure anxious, so I don't think that was the problem. However, after the 4th or 5th shot, I am sure anxiety played a role. I have also read about epinephrine mixed with the medication that can cause people to have increased heart rates and associated anxiety. I don't know if he used a medication mixed with epi.

Hmm. That is very interesting - and a little nerve wracking. I've never had a tooth pulled and *am* anxious about it. I'll report back and let you know if I have the same issue.

My tooth had a root canal about 20 years ago, and 3ish years ago developed a pocket of infection underneath the root. Initially he put me on penicillin and within 24 hours the pain was gone and the swelling down. Six months later it had another flare up. After antibiotics I was good for a year, and then it gave me trouble again. X-rays revealed nothing. Eventually he opened the tooth up and shot some antibiotics directly into the root (this was last summer). He did that about 4 - 6 times over the course of the summer, but a fistula that had formed on my gum just was not going away, so he sent me to an endodontist thinking he would do a surgical procedure in which he would enter the area from my gum and scrape the chronically-infected pocket out of there.

Unfortunately, it's too close to an important nerve, and the endo said it needed to just come out and be bridged.

So... that is where we are.

The flare-up last week was what sent me to the phone to make the appt. to have it pulled. The suggested ibuprofin was not doing a thing for me. I called and begged for something stronger and ended up w/ hydrocodone (isn't that Vicodin?). The 1 pill I got to take every 4 - 6 hours didn't touch the pain, so we asked a pharmacist friend how much I could take without being risky. He said to take 2 of the hydro. along with 4 ibu. to get on top of it, and from then on out to take the 'right' dose. He was right - it worked like a charm.

There's just nothing at all like mouth pain! Nothing!

I would try asking for a low dose of Xanax or even valium. Couldn't hurt (no pun intended) to relax just a little bit before those blasted shots!

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Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

Yes - Vicodin = hydrocodone. 800 ibuprofin is fine - just eat a bit or have some crackers at least because it can cause stomach upset.

I had one 3rd molar (wisdom tooth) pulled 25 years ago. No problems. They had to break it up, but all was well and the anesthesia was fine.

GL. If you are anxious, I don't think Xanax would hurt if you have someone to drive you home.

Thanks. I am SO SO SO not a weeny about pain. But, I am thinking of calling and seeing how asking for some sort of antianxiety medication prior to the next encounter works. I have never taken anything stronger than Vicondin once, and that upset my stomach. I never took pain meds during childbirth -- even a spinal -- I just don't like losing control and would rather have pain. I am a bit of a control freak I guess.

I don't want to look like a drug seeker. In my current job, I have to alert some pretty high up in DC if I anticpate being "incapacitated" so I really don't want to do the gas thing. Thanks. I will ask for Valium next appt if drilling is involved!

I don't know what the drug is, but my dentist puts this gel stuff on a q-tip and puts it against the gum for a few minutes before the shot to deaden it. It's some sort of a topical pain killer. You can still feel the shot, but it definately takes the edge off of the stick. Just FYI if you wanted to request that for at least the initial stick...

Lisa

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"It's not having what you want,
It's wanting what you've got"

That's exactly how I felt when I was making my 3rd call to the dentist's office to request something more potent for the pain. I wasn't desperate for drugs... I was desperate to alleviate the pain, and that was the thing I needed to have so the pain could go away.

I do understand what you're saying about the gas, but if it were available to me I'd do it in a heartbeat. Besides just not liking to bear pain, I find it to be a distraction that keeps me from being able to tend to the business at hand. My drug-free labor took 2 1/2 hours of pushing, and the ones that included an epidural each took no more than two pushes, and for no other reason than that I wasn't pre-occupied with how much pain I was in. lol

For me, Valium (which I have only had during an eye surgery) left me with a longer out-of-body experience than the gas (which I've only had during oral procedures). Usually the effects of the gas wore off within 5 minutes or so once the mask was removed, but the Valium hung around in my system making me groggy for 2 - 4 hours. Both of them get a thumbs up from me, though... anything to get rid of the pain so I can have my brain back! lol

My personal experience and nightowlrn I feel sooooooooooo sorry for you. I have been there I have lived in the dentists office all my life, they always told me it was hereityt sp.... By the time I was 30 I have so many teeth extracted, so many root canals, so many cavities, you name it and I had. Finally after all many years I had all my teeth extracted. I have one who piece 1o teeth on the top and 8 implants on the bottom. After all I have been through I am not afarid of the dentist at all. I never ever opted for being put to sleep I prefer to be awake and see what they are doing, some call me crazy, but after all the injections I endured it did not bother me. I will say this on a couple of the root canals the pain afterwards was bad, but I get very sick with heavy duty meds and cannot take them, so I take 800 milliagrams of tynenol and deal with it and it works. I would highly suggest taking something to relax you before because believe it or not here is my biggest fear with the dentist ready???. I hate hate having stuff in my mouth wide open head all the way back and those gauze tubes yuck and so scary. Talk about panic, I always felt I would swallow one of the gauze's and choke, hate them to death. I have been using xanax for so many years and could not imagine all the work I have had done and not taking the xanax. I offer sincere wishes that all goes well feel better sweetie and hugs and peace. Catherine

I've had that happen , too It's awful. Had a tooth that the dentist just could not get numb. What a nightmare.

I've had dental problems my entire life and have had extensive work done (root canals, crowns, etc.) because I do not want dentures -- ever so I will do anything to save my teeth.

I now have to see a periodontist in a few weeks because I have some deep pockets that will require deep cleaning or maybe even surgery

And I am scared to death! I've been worried since I made the appointment. And obviously, being terrified will make the procedure even worse. I do take Xanax already and it does not help with anxiety about dental procedures.

I'm praying that they will use some kind of sedation or something (like they do for colonoscopies, endoscopies, etc.) so you don't feel a thing.

This is 2011 -- patients shouldn't have to suffer that kind of pain anymore.

There are several possibilities that come to mind. I had that happen once, years ago, and the dentist blamed in on the nerve endings being someplace other than expected. He ended up giving me the injection an inch or so from where he thought it should be given. Another possibility is that the dentist had a bad or watered down drug sold to him. A third might be that you respond to some meds better than others. If you've had successful work done in the past, see if you can find out what they used on you. I wish you luck and a pain free next visit.

Did you say this is a dentist you haven't gone to before? You might want to check around and see if there are any complaints against him. I can't count the number of times I've had novacaine. I only had a problem once when it did something to the nerve and I had some some really weird sensations for awhile. He told me that can happen since they are trying to deaden the nerve for awhile. My dentist also puts the gel on the gum before he injects the novacaine. I'm sorry you had to go through this. When I was growing up with NEVER had any novacaine with fillings and I had tons of fillings. You just sucked it in and got through it. I will never forget that feeling when they got close to that nerve and it caused extreme pain. I'm 54 and I still remember how that pain feels. I didn't start getting novacaine with fillings until I was 23. I'll take the novacaine! Good luck!

Some dentists will give you earphones so that you can listen to relaxing music during the procedure.

I had my 4 wisdom teeth pulled and 3 other teeth pulled when I got my braces on. They usually put you under for that, but I had a cold and they did not. I was awake the whole time. I had shots and gas. They game me pain meds, but I think that frozen peas every 15 min on each side did the trick for me. I am sorry you are in so much pain.

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-Kristi

Thanks for all the advice. I don't think I can blame the dentist. The pain was while drilling, not after. I was sore from all the shots after, but it wasn't horrible. Hopefully I won't have to deal with molar problems again for a long time. I have done research and found some anesthetics have epinephrine mixed. I need to call to see if he used the mixed type, which can also cause anxiety and jitters due to the epi.

Next time,I hope I can remember to ask for Valium prior to help the anesthesia do its thing better. I also plan to bring my Ipod to help distract me with some soothing music.

For now, I am fine again. I am just hoping I don't have some horrible flashback the next time I have a cavity on a back molar!