I need some help pretty desperately. I am in so much pain and living on prescription painkillers at the moment. I need a root canal on a lateral incisor but my dentist can’t get me numb. He tried a cream and several shots. When there was no way to get me numb, he returned my fee and wrote me this prescription I’ve been living on, but I can’t live like this forever. Have you seen this happen before?
Casey
Dear Casey,
I am so sorry for what you are going through. Yes, I can definitely help you. Not many dentists are aware of this, but there is a connection between the ability to get numb and dental anxiety. The higher the anxiety, the more difficult it is to get numb. Given your experience, it will probably be even harder for you to get numb the next time. Fortunately, there is a solution.
You will need to have your procedures, such as your root canal treatment, done by a sedation dentist. This is not a specialty, but simply dentists who are accustomed to working with patients who have experienced dental trauma in the past and offer sedation options in order to help them have some positive experiences at the dentist as well as to help them to get caught up on their dental work in an anxiety-free and pain-free way.
Sometimes, it is just a simple matter of having a relaxant in your body, such as nitrous oxide, to help your metabolism and adrenaline calm down, which in turn enables the numbing medication to do its job.
I know you’ve had a horrible experience, but try not to put off looking for a sedation dentist. Hopefully, your dentist prescribed you an antibiotic along with the pain meds. If he didn’t call him up and ask for one immediately. This will not cure your infection, but it will slow it down while you are locating the dentist who can provide the services you need. Tooth infections are considered dental emergencies because they will spread to other parts of your body if left untreated.
This blog is brought to you by Hoffman Estates Dentist Dr. William Becker.