4 ms·

Must be a thing in German speaking countries? Last year i was asked if i wanted local anesthetic when the dentist was about to drill a back tooth for a crown i

by derriz 11y ago

Must be a thing in German speaking countries? Last year i was asked if i wanted local anesthetic when the dentist was about to drill a back tooth for a crown in Zurich. I blinked with incomprehension - I couldn't believe anyone would NOT want anesthesia. But apparently I had understood correctly and according to the dentist quite a few ask to forego it.

__david__ 11y ago
My dad doesn't do anesthesia when getting fillings (we're in the US). He doesn't like the numbness afterwards and the pain doesn't bother him too much, I guess. I tried it once and made it through, but it was a pretty miserable experience.
jacinda 11y ago
They may have asked because having dental insurance isn't as common in Switzerland (medical/accident insurance is mandatory, but not dental), so many people pay for everything out of pocket. They might opt-out of the anesthetic to save money.
legulere 11y ago
Drilling and getting a filling isn't that painful and for some people getting a shot is less pleasant. There even are some dentists in Germany that drawing teeth without anesthesia, but with the help of hypnosis.
- tripzilch 11y ago
  Indeed, some people are way more afraid of needles. And the pain (for drilling+filling a regular cavity) really isn't that bad. The biggest unpleasantness about it is that it's in a weird place, at the back of my tooth, and that it happens at pretty much random intervals beyond my control. Most of the time you don't feel a thing, until the dentist "hits a nerve", sharp pain, but also subsides within the second. And as far as I've understood they don't actually hit the nerve with the drill, just that the tooth locally heats up from the drill friction, which the nerve feels as a sharp pain, anyone know if that is actually right? I just ... read it somewhere :) I used to do without (it wasn't offered, I was young and didn't ask either), but nowadays I usually opt for the anaesthetic, I don't mind needles at all, and there's no downside to it, afaik.

by derriz 11y ago

__david__ 11y ago

My dad doesn't do anesthesia when getting fillings (we're in the US). He doesn't like the numbness afterwards and the pain doesn't bother him too much, I guess. I tried it once and made it through, but it was a pretty miserable experience.

jacinda 11y ago

They may have asked because having dental insurance isn't as common in Switzerland (medical/accident insurance is mandatory, but not dental), so many people pay for everything out of pocket. They might opt-out of the anesthetic to save money.

legulere 11y ago

Drilling and getting a filling isn't that painful and for some people getting a shot is less pleasant. There even are some dentists in Germany that drawing teeth without anesthesia, but with the help of hypnosis.

tripzilch 11y ago
Indeed, some people are way more afraid of needles. And the pain (for drilling+filling a regular cavity) really isn't that bad. The biggest unpleasantness about it is that it's in a weird place, at the back of my tooth, and that it happens at pretty much random intervals beyond my control. Most of the time you don't feel a thing, until the dentist "hits a nerve", sharp pain, but also subsides within the second. And as far as I've understood they don't actually hit the nerve with the drill, just that the tooth locally heats up from the drill friction, which the nerve feels as a sharp pain, anyone know if that is actually right? I just ... read it somewhere :) I used to do without (it wasn't offered, I was young and didn't ask either), but nowadays I usually opt for the anaesthetic, I don't mind needles at all, and there's no downside to it, afaik.