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I started refusing local anaesthetic for dental procedures when I was teenager. I discovered the pain of the procedure itself (such as drilling a cavity) was th

I started refusing local anaesthetic for dental procedures when I was teenager. I discovered the pain of the procedure itself (such as drilling a cavity) was the same, but I was spared the pain of the injection and lingering numbness afterwards. I was happy to leave my appointments alert and pain-free. I imagine any color light or other type of distraction would provide the same results. It's not even a placebo effect, so much as the fact that a lot of these procedures are well within most people's pain tolerance and/or can be over in a minute. I gladly went under general anaesthesia to have my wisdom teeth removed, however.

lacrimacida 3y ago
I never had any issues with local anesthesia and usually get some novocaine gel as a local anesthetic prior to the local anesthetic. Maybe it is effective for some while not for others, I have no other explaination. I’d let a dentist drill anything, no matter how small without anesthesia.
- projektfu 3y ago
  Infiltration techniques depend on the patient and, to some extent, the skill of the dentist. They're most common for single extractions and cavity prep, sometimes endodontics. Nerve block techniques are more effective but also difficult for dentists to do properly, and some dentists have low success rates. There's no way to know a given dentist's success rate, but an oral surgeon has a lot more practice with nerve blocks. Finally, some drugs have a very slow onset and patients aren't given enough time for the effect. You also don't usually get to choose the drug as a patient.
yojo 3y ago
I had a cavity filled without local anesthesia as a poor backpacker in Thailand. It hurt. Not as bad as I thought it would, but I’ve never felt the need to turn down local since. I also had my wisdom teeth out under local. The pain was bearable, but it is a much more violent procedure than I would have guessed. Given that general comes with a non-zero risk of death, I’d still do local again on that one. Plus it’s kind of a trip to watch someone wrench a tooth out of your mouth.
- toast0 3y ago
  > I also had my wisdom teeth out under local. Me too, but it makes a big difference how far erupted they are. Mine were basically half way out, and were starting to cause problems, so pull them all. The top ones came out with like one yank each, but the bottom ones took a lot of tugging. The dentist said that was pretty normal, top teeth are barely hanging on.
  - brandall10 3y ago
    Mine were just beginning to come in and for some reason my dentist felt it was okay to remove them... trying to pull them was a joke, so he used a tiny reciprocating saw to cut each tooth into pieces. Took 3 hours, and given the amount of local used it would have been better to do general. Worst pain I ever felt was when the anesthetic wore off 30 minutes post procedure.
    - vkou 3y ago
      > for some reason my dentist felt it was okay to remove them That reason is probably 'he stands to make a lot of money for getting to them before any other dentist'.
      - brandall10 3y ago
        The funny thing is he had been my dentist for 3 years to that point, and because of this my family moved on to someone else. And there were potential repercussions beyond as my face was crazy swollen for a couple weeks and dozens of teachers/students wanted to know WTF happened... like if I was in a car wreck and broke my jaw or something.
    - bombolo 3y ago
      I'm sure the local butcher would have costed you less.
- distances 3y ago
  Is general anesthesia then offered somewhere as an option for wisdom tooth removal? That sounds massively excessive for what usually is just pulling a teeth out.
nharada 3y ago
> the pain of the procedure itself (such as drilling a cavity) was the same I've not had cavities filled without anesthetic, but are you sure someone wasn't just fucking up the procedure? I've had plenty of dental work and if it's done properly it definitely isn't painful, just uncomfortable. I've definitely had cases where they didn't give me enough, and they've re-upped me and fixed the issue.
chpatrick 3y ago
Same here for superficial cavities, I'd rather take milliseconds of pain over hours of numbness.
saurik 3y ago
It's more than just the numbness: the actual numbing agent is often injected in combination with epinephrine (aka adrenaline), which acts as a vasoconstrictor and tends to keep the anesthetic in the right place longer... but some of that is eventually going to get into your overall bloodstream and the result is that you are now a bit anxious/nervous :/ refusing the injection (which I also started doing back about 10-15 years ago, when the mother of my at-the-time-girlfriend told me about her experiences doing that) also thereby leaves you chemically calmer (and likely thereby better able to deal with any pain that does result).
skocznymroczny 3y ago
Similar here. I disliked the numbness and the fact that I can't eat food for few hours after the procedure, so I just go anaesthetic free now. I can definitely tell the difference. It is painful without, but it's just some pain. I am an adult, I can take it. And the fact that I can leave without any lingering effects is very nice. Would probably still go for anaestesia for harder procedures like root canal.
- cameronh90 3y ago
  In the UK, I've never been told not to eat after local anesthesia, just to be careful with anything hot or sharp, because I won't be able to feel if something is burning or spiking me.
cameronh90 3y ago
There shouldn't be any pain at all during local anaesthetic, but you'll still feel movement. The injection also shouldn't be particularly painful if done correctly; something like a mild pinch. They can use numbing gel prior to the injection if needed. It also shouldn't affect your alertness. Are you perhaps a redhead or something else that would give you an atypical response to anaesthesia and pain? Some people do just need a higher dose of local anesthetic, and your dentist should provide it if you're still in pain.
- piceas 3y ago
  If done correctly! I was unlucky and it was extremely painful. It also resulted in a very minor permanent facial droop.

lacrimacida 3y ago

I never had any issues with local anesthesia and usually get some novocaine gel as a local anesthetic prior to the local anesthetic. Maybe it is effective for some while not for others, I have no other explaination. I’d let a dentist drill anything, no matter how small without anesthesia.

projektfu 3y ago
Infiltration techniques depend on the patient and, to some extent, the skill of the dentist. They're most common for single extractions and cavity prep, sometimes endodontics. Nerve block techniques are more effective but also difficult for dentists to do properly, and some dentists have low success rates. There's no way to know a given dentist's success rate, but an oral surgeon has a lot more practice with nerve blocks. Finally, some drugs have a very slow onset and patients aren't given enough time for the effect. You also don't usually get to choose the drug as a patient.

yojo 3y ago

I had a cavity filled without local anesthesia as a poor backpacker in Thailand. It hurt. Not as bad as I thought it would, but I’ve never felt the need to turn down local since. I also had my wisdom teeth out under local. The pain was bearable, but it is a much more violent procedure than I would have guessed. Given that general comes with a non-zero risk of death, I’d still do local again on that one. Plus it’s kind of a trip to watch someone wrench a tooth out of your mouth.

toast0 3y ago
> I also had my wisdom teeth out under local. Me too, but it makes a big difference how far erupted they are. Mine were basically half way out, and were starting to cause problems, so pull them all. The top ones came out with like one yank each, but the bottom ones took a lot of tugging. The dentist said that was pretty normal, top teeth are barely hanging on.
- brandall10 3y ago
  Mine were just beginning to come in and for some reason my dentist felt it was okay to remove them... trying to pull them was a joke, so he used a tiny reciprocating saw to cut each tooth into pieces. Took 3 hours, and given the amount of local used it would have been better to do general. Worst pain I ever felt was when the anesthetic wore off 30 minutes post procedure.
  - vkou 3y ago
    > for some reason my dentist felt it was okay to remove them That reason is probably 'he stands to make a lot of money for getting to them before any other dentist'.
    - brandall10 3y ago
      The funny thing is he had been my dentist for 3 years to that point, and because of this my family moved on to someone else. And there were potential repercussions beyond as my face was crazy swollen for a couple weeks and dozens of teachers/students wanted to know WTF happened... like if I was in a car wreck and broke my jaw or something.
  - bombolo 3y ago
    I'm sure the local butcher would have costed you less.
distances 3y ago
Is general anesthesia then offered somewhere as an option for wisdom tooth removal? That sounds massively excessive for what usually is just pulling a teeth out.

nharada 3y ago

> the pain of the procedure itself (such as drilling a cavity) was the same I've not had cavities filled without anesthetic, but are you sure someone wasn't just fucking up the procedure? I've had plenty of dental work and if it's done properly it definitely isn't painful, just uncomfortable. I've definitely had cases where they didn't give me enough, and they've re-upped me and fixed the issue.

chpatrick 3y ago

Same here for superficial cavities, I'd rather take milliseconds of pain over hours of numbness.

saurik 3y ago

It's more than just the numbness: the actual numbing agent is often injected in combination with epinephrine (aka adrenaline), which acts as a vasoconstrictor and tends to keep the anesthetic in the right place longer... but some of that is eventually going to get into your overall bloodstream and the result is that you are now a bit anxious/nervous :/ refusing the injection (which I also started doing back about 10-15 years ago, when the mother of my at-the-time-girlfriend told me about her experiences doing that) also thereby leaves you chemically calmer (and likely thereby better able to deal with any pain that does result).

skocznymroczny 3y ago

Similar here. I disliked the numbness and the fact that I can't eat food for few hours after the procedure, so I just go anaesthetic free now. I can definitely tell the difference. It is painful without, but it's just some pain. I am an adult, I can take it. And the fact that I can leave without any lingering effects is very nice. Would probably still go for anaestesia for harder procedures like root canal.

cameronh90 3y ago
In the UK, I've never been told not to eat after local anesthesia, just to be careful with anything hot or sharp, because I won't be able to feel if something is burning or spiking me.

cameronh90 3y ago

There shouldn't be any pain at all during local anaesthetic, but you'll still feel movement. The injection also shouldn't be particularly painful if done correctly; something like a mild pinch. They can use numbing gel prior to the injection if needed. It also shouldn't affect your alertness. Are you perhaps a redhead or something else that would give you an atypical response to anaesthesia and pain? Some people do just need a higher dose of local anesthetic, and your dentist should provide it if you're still in pain.

piceas 3y ago
If done correctly! I was unlucky and it was extremely painful. It also resulted in a very minor permanent facial droop.