When I had a major cavity filled—I don't remember the details—they essentially gave me as much anesthesia as they safely could, but something about the placemen

When I had a major cavity filled—I don't remember the details—they essentially gave me as much anesthesia as they safely could, but something about the placement of the teeth or the nerves meant that the operation had to be very close to the nerve. They literally had to ask me if I could at least keep the screaming down to a level that it didn't scare the other patients. I'm very happy for people for whom it's not unbearable, but I think that's not a universal. (My mom was resistant to anesthesia, which dentists generally didn't believe when told, so they'd try to distract her and drill when she wasn't expecting to prove that she was actually numbed. She wasn't, and it hurt so much and she built up so much distrust she simply wouldn't go to the dentist any more.)