Posted: 3/25/2004 9:26:01 AM EDT
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Ugh, went to the Dentist this morning to have a few cavities filled. I hate the Dentist. Not on a personal level, I don't even know the guy. But, these guys sure know how to create pain. Yeah, sure, they try to minimize it, by first "numbing" the gum areas, before they stick the TWO INCH long needle  in various parts of the jaw. Problem is, I, and I suspect everyone else; can feel pain "in" the jaw, so that needle is felt down deep, where it shouldn’t be felt. Then there is the liquid I fell splashing on my face, it's warm and I taste blood. I suspect he's struck an artery, but I'm afraid to ask. He's got my mouth stretched out anyway, I wouldn’t be able to. I hear him tell the assistant to "clean that out", and the vacuum thing goes to work.Then there is the "test" drilling. You know, where the dentist tests the effectiveness of the numbing shots by drilling on a tooth. As luck would have it, I felt it, and let out a sound similar to "ughmpf". The dentist asks, "you feel that?" and of course I mumble "uh huh". Out comes the two inch needle........ OK, once I'm all numbed up, the drilling commences. Such force is required to drill that my head pivots in the chair, and I'm forced to reposition. It's that classic dentists drill sound, very high pitched whine, synonymous with pain. I sit there in the chair, wincing at the sound and fighting to keep my head properly positioned, wondering when the pressure from the drill might break through to a nerve, and send pain crashing through my jaw. Luckily, that moment doesn’t come, but I find myself soaked in sweat. My legs are slightly crossed, as are my hands. Under each is dampness, and my palms are sweaty. I am stressed. Finally, the drilling is done, and now it is time for the fillings. Silver amalgam, a close cousin to kryptonite is used. The stuff is packed in the tunnels the drill made, the packing done by a dental pick. Again, my head moves each time the dentist presses the dental pick down into my tooth, I am again sweating, just waiting for the pain.... I hear the dentist ask for a "burnisher" a couple of times, and figure out that this is some type of scraper, as every time he asks for it, he scrapes some stuff off. Next thing I know, he's asking me to bite down on something that looks like a piece of film. Turns out it is a marker that they use to determine if the filling is too high, biting down on it marks where the filling would contact the opposite tooth, which is apparently a bad thing. After several bites and scrapes, I'm done. I get what I suspect is a standard advisory, that silver amalgam fillings take 24 hours to "set", and I might be sensitive till it does. He also tells me that once the numbness wears off, I might have high spots from the fillings anyway, because people just don't bit down normally when their jaw is numbed up. I am finally released, after what seemed like 2 hours in the chair. My pants are damp with sweat, as is my back. I feel somewhat nauseous, a by-product of the stress. And my lip is numb, it feels fat, and I have a hard time speaking. Or at least speaking without feeling like a dumbass. I'm led to the front desk, where I am promptly charge $100.40 for my trouble and kicked loose out the door, still damp from the sweat. I think I'll consider waiting another 15 years before I go see one again.... |
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[LOL] yeah i used to have a real dislike of dentists too. when i was a little kid we had a dentist who was a frickin torturer. did all my cavities with no novocaine or anything. i finally hauled off and punched the bastard. i think this is when i learned that violence *does* solve problems cause we got to go to another dentist from then on! [^] you should find a different dentist too. the guy i go to now is an *artist*. never feel any pain at all. |
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I have a hard time gettign numb. The one time I had 5 full syrignes into my gum and I could still feel the pain. My whole head was numb, but it still hurt. I told him to just get it over with. I later found out my nerve is in a different location than most. Lucky me. |
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Last couple of fillings that I got, I skipped the Novicain. The stuff affects me slowly, so I still felt the pain, plus the lingering numbness was annoying. I just asked the dentist to make sure he used a sharp bit (faster-cutting), and he went and got a brand new one. The sharp nerve pain doesn't last that long, and when he's done, I feel normal - no residual numbness. YMMV. |
| You guys are lucky, my kid sis is a dentist, Univ of Penn @Philly & UCLA dental, I get read the riot act everytime I go there. Actually dentistry is part science and part art. You really want to get a good one. I suffer to this day from a lousy dentist, one one of my molars will probably fall out in the next few years because of a botched impacted wisdom tooth extraction when I was in my early 20s, definitely no fun. Brush & floss if you want to keep your teeth for a life time. |
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I tell my dentist(s),"I've played sports almost all my life and I've run the gamut of sports related injuries-broken bones, sprains, twists, tears, pulls, dislocations. Nothing hurts more than dental pain. If I feel no pain, you're free to do whatever you like. However, if I DO feel pain, your crotch is just a short reach away. To put it simply, if I feel pain, YOU feel pain." It works EVERY time, however I've yet to have a FEMALE dentist. [shock] I don't particularly care for the dentist, but I don't have a morbid fear of them. |
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Quoted: Quoted: 2 words: sedation dentistry This done by all Dentists? I have a dentist in my area that advertises it specifically. He uses "pills" to sedate you and then grinds away. My regular dentist finally learned his lesson and knocked me out with NO2 the last time he drilled. |
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Guys. It's NOT that bad. Had 2 root canals done at the same time. A minor surgery: A deep cleaning that required cutting an area of the gum to clean and then sew that area together. Took about 2.5 hrs. Both, no problem at all. You guys just have shitty dentist. [:D] |
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Look for low stress dentist that gets in and gets it done, and doesn't try to do 3 or 4 fillings or other high stress work at one visit. Mostly, mine gets me in and out in 20 minutes or so. If the tooth is smoking, tell the dumbass to irrigate so it won't get so hot. |
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Wife had $12,000 work done 2 1/2 years ago. She went to a new dentist here in Florida because of pain she was experiencing. Seems the old dentist didn't get the plates sealed tight and she has cavities under her $12,000 dental work. We have to spend another $8,000 to get it fixed. The money is bad enough but she has to endure 20+ hours over the next few weeks having the work done. Can you say "LAWYER"? |
| My dentist is a good friend of mine and was before he became my dentist. That said, I have a terrible fear of dentists that's so bad I have to take a tranquilizer just to make an appointment. When I was a kid, I had a dentist that was no doubt an interrogator for the North Koreans. I have very sensitive teeth anyway. I have to gargle with warm water. Anyway, he hit one exposed nerve after another. It permanently ruined me as far as dentists go. Now I have a very good dentist an a good oral surgeon. Dental works sucks, but abscessed teeth are a lot worse. |
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OK, I know you are all going to hate me for this, but I really don’t mind going to the dentist. He is usually pretty gentile during regular check-ups, and he uses NO2 very liberally when I have to have a cavity filled. The last time I had a filling done, I was so “nitroused-out” that I hardly noticed what was going on; in fact, it was all I could do to keep from laughing; overall, it was actually kind of cool. |
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Quoted: Quoted: 2 words: sedation dentistry This done by all Dentists? You can get NO2 at most dentists, that takes some of the edge off. If you want to be put all the way under you need to go to an oral surgeon, but they only do the work that you really need to be put out for. BTW my dentist has a full auto Uzi. |
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[lolabove]LMAO. A few years ago, I went to my denist for a visit, thinking he was just going to fill a cavity. Nope, he decides to do a root canal[shock]. Man, I have never felt such excruciating pain in my life, and for an hour! I thought I had been captured by the enemy and was being tortured! Needless to say, that was the last time I went to this dentist[peep]. Recently I had to find another dentist, suffering from a toothache. Being absent from the dentist for almost three years, i need alot of work. First visit with the new dentist, he tells me I need another ROOT CANAL[puke], good God, NO I said! But, he wants to send me to a Endo, root canal dentist. My wife happens to work for one, so she sets up an appointment for me. BUT, this time I felt NOTHING at all! I could not believe it. Plus he charges $1100.00 for a root canal and I didn't have to pay a thing, I was a very happy camper. |
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Next time ask the Dentist to prescribe Valium for you. I did that and it works like a charm. You take a pill one hour before going. You will be so relaxed, it will be a stress-free dream visit. Just last week, I needed 4 teeth pulled. They gave me Nitrous and Oxygen to chill me out, then a needle in the arm. I woke up a little later with gauze stuffed in my mouth. Didn't feel a thing, and was sleepy as hell. Went home and slept the rest of the afternoon. When visiting a Dentist, drugs are your best friend....(prescription) |