dental poll
 

OK. So I'm going to the dentist tomorrow to have a filling redone and I'm a bit nervous about the needle. My memory from childhood is that the syringe is like 5 feet long :eek:.

I have had it suggested to me by an otherwise rational and intelligent person from this forum (although her reasoning behind asking about the town of Smithers would make anyone wonder :D) that I can ask dentist not to give me a needle. I have had another British person say this to me as well.

Is this for real or is this a very evil example of you British 'taking the piss'? :D Seriously though... it's been a long time since I've had to have any dental work... would you pass on the needle?

Hey, I'll try to create a poll! :) ... It worked!

Re: dental poll
 

GO WITH THE NEEDLE. Any suggestion to the contrary is purely a warped sense of humour!

They can give you that numbing gel first so the needle doesnt hurt if its a problem, but an half competent dentist should ba able to inflict it without it hurting too much anyway.

Re: dental poll
 

Sure you can ask not to have the needle....

it all depends on your level of tolerance to pain

if you opt out of the needle just pray that its high :D

Re: dental poll
 

I have a friend here who always goes without the needle. Something to do with an aversion to drugs or should I say a history of loving drugs a little too much and deciding to avoid??? Can't remember but no needles for her!

Re: dental poll
 

Do you enjoy pain? ;)

Re: dental poll
 

I'd go with the needle if I were you, along with the numbing cream first!
But then I am a big coward when it comes to dentists!
TBH, it's the drill more than the needle for me!

Anybody seen Steve Martin as the dentist in Little Shop of Horrors? Brilliant!!

:D

Re: dental poll
 

I'm going to hold up my hands and admit, I am the no needle person!

Unless they hit a nerve, it's ok, honest!

:)

Re: dental poll
 

And if I had ever had a nerve hit, it would probably change my mind. :)

Re: dental poll
 

Peas,

Go with needle for sure. No whack out drugs needed, unless it's a very deep nasty piece of work, like tug-out, root canal or deep crown prep. Which might entail two hits, else all will be fine.

Appropriate pain strategy = Shut eyes. Look away. Think of nice warm dark place.

The gear they use can affect people quite badly, I was always a little roughed up by it as it contains some sort of harsh speed-related ingredients to get the painkiller drugs into the system very quickly, and I was always totally hammered by it, like my head and heart pounding, and I could never drive or go back to work after having the needle. Just had the temptation to put loud dance music on, turn off the lights and drink plenty of water and dance madly with a cheesy grin ;) :D

Otherp pees are usually OK. Just my own tolerance level and reaction to such nasties I guess.

Rich.

Re: dental poll
 

LOL. I had to have the inside of one of my teeth drilled out recently because the nerve died and got infected, and it hardly hurt at all, including the initial injection... worst part was when they stuck something in there to wipe out the gunk, and that was just a short twinge.

Dentistry isn't a big deal these days in developed nations, other than price-wise!

Re: dental poll
 

:D This is hilarious! (to me anyway!) And helping with the nerves. :o

So far, according to the votes and the 'hands up' GillyC and Yonk are the masochists of the Canada lifestyle forum :D and the rest of you, by default are normal! Well, except for dbd - but his dental work is probably out in the garage.

Re: dental poll
 

Tell us something we DONT know:D

Re: dental poll
 

Oh, I'd love to see that now... yeah, that's an excellent scene! The black leather apron and motorcycle boots. :D

'Who wants their teeth done by the Marquis de Sade?
--- Oh, that hurts! I'm not numb!
Oh, shut up, open wide, here I come!
I am your dentist... '

Re: dental poll
 

pain = not good, so go for the needle everytime

and my dentist has little stress balls you can squeezze, that didnt sound quite right but i think you get my drift.

whatever you choose this time tomorrow it will be all over, history.
good luck!!!

Re: dental poll
 

I have absolutely no idea what you mean. ;)

Re: dental poll
 

When I was a kid I had a dentist drill into a nerve. He didn't believe in giving children the needle.

Take the needle. Trust me on this.

Re: dental poll
 

< me faints! >

Re: dental poll
 

PMSL! :D

Re: dental poll
 

HAHAHA! That's funny! Interestingly if you look at my location and Yonk's you'll see that we both live, or have lived, in Edinburgh (me 12 years). If you can go through getting your impacted wisdom tooth pulled out at the Edinburgh Dental School and then have to have the socket packed with mesh stuff covered in clove oil, whilst a child is screaming in the next room, you can go through anything! Dentists? Pah! They don't scare me! :D :D :D

Re: dental poll
 

You really shouldn't feel any pain at all...what you think is the needle going up into your eye socket isn't, it's just the pressure. If it's injected slowly enough you don't feel a thing. Ask for some anaesthetic cream on the gum if you want, it's a bit pointless though as it's not the needleprick you feel...but if it helps you deal with what's coming, why not have it!

Does your dentist have "the wand"? Probably not since you're asking this, but if it's really dreadful tomorrow you could phone around and find one who does (private, people who can afford those don't work on the NHS ;) )

Re: dental poll
 

I had a run-in with those butchers in Chamber Street when I was 11.

Closed down now, turned into flats....bet they're nice, those high ceilings and staircases - but I'd forever be hearing phantom drills and screaming :D :D
:scared:

Re: dental poll
 

Ok, you people are scaring me ... "the wand" ... "squeezy balls" ... wtf am I getting myself into here? :scared:

:D

Re: dental poll
 

My wife is a dentist its supprising how little the needle hurts once the gel is liberally applied, have the needle , you'll be glad you did

Re: dental poll
 

I can't find good information on it but it's a "painless" injection system.

The company website is rubbish, unless I'm missing something...

Re: dental poll
 

Yeah the Butchers of Chambers Street has a ring to to it. I bet in 50 years time they'll have ghost tours there for people to listen out for the tortured screams from the ghosts of past dental 'clients'. Didn't know it had closed down. It is a beautiful building though.

Jokes aside, to be honest, those dentists at Chambers street were really no trouble. I was 27 at the time so maybe I was mature enough not to scream! :eek:

Re: dental poll
 

Not to put you off or anything, I had to have a root canal done a couple of years ago, the dentist a very nice Oriental lady started jabbing a round with the needle and managed to inject my tongue, then she stabbed me so hard the needle got stuck in the bone in my lower jaw. After 9 separate attempts to inject me she though that I was numb enough and started working, it could still feel every movement of the rasp she was using to fish out the nerve. For 30 mins I was in so much agony I could of quite happily strangled the woman at the end.

About a year before I went to a different dentist just for a check up and he said I needed two minor fillings and if I would go with out the needle he could do it there and then, so I did and it was fine but they were very shallow filling no where near a nerve.

A friend of mine sees a dentist that uses some form of hypnosis to control the pain apparently it works very well.

But I would probably have the needle again for any substantial work.

Good Luck

Dozzzzy :zzz:

Re: dental poll
 

Go for the needle...BUT...get en estimate for the treatment first. :scared: Dental charges here I find horrendously expensive compared to the UK...and I was a 'Private patient' there (very few NHS Dentist's)


Perhaps you should have a sedative before getting the estimate...jeez...more expense...:eek:

Oh well...such is life in 'Paradise' :beer:

Re: dental poll
 

As a buddhist I like to transcend dental medication.

Re: dental poll
 

I've been told (repeatedly!) by another well respected poster that "paradise" is in fact near Victoria BC...you mean its been just around the corner this whole time :( :confused: :D

Re: dental poll
 

Oh yes...every morning I awake and look out onto the Lake...I know I,m in paradise...so 'getting the needle' so to speak at the Dentist etc is just paying my due's towards being here!....:) ...I think:confused:

Re: dental poll
 

The last time I had root canal work done was following an abscess (now we're talking serious pain!).

The dentist assured me that anaesthetic was not necessary; the abscess had killed the nerve.

Not quite, matey. The nerve has three roots. One was most definitely still alive, as I discovered when he drilled into it.

You know those cartoon pictures of cats hanging from the ceiling by their claws.......?

Re: dental poll
 

I can totally relate..

I found I had an abscess in my tooth when the filling in that tooth collapsed into the abscess…
I worked at boots the chemists in the research labs at the time and they used what they could to get me sedated enough to get me to a dentist…

Re: dental poll
 

That's what they told you ;)

Re: dental poll
 

Well, I made it. :)

I don't think I got "the needle". I'm not sure what I got - Biiiiink, maybe it was a "painless injection system" thing? I didn't even have a 'fat, drooling lip'. Now, I feel a little bit sore (only like I went a bit crazy with the floss) but nothing like I have in the past. Whatever it was, it was the best numbing from a dentist I've ever had!

The guy was so freakin' quick. As soon as I got zoomed back in the chair... Bam! "say aaaahhhh..." and I can feel my gum going numb... zero pain! I was going to ask about the needle and some local numbing gel but never got the chance! For my sake, a very good strategy on his part really - I never saw it coming. After I asked how he numbed me up but he said a bunch of gobbly-gook very quickly and I'm hard of hearing so missed a lot of it. And actually thought that maybe it's best I don't really know anyway; ignorance can be bliss, eh?

batty x-ray, laying there, my mouth full of drill, I had to really try hard not to break into a big grin a few times thinking about "little stress balls you can squeeze". :D I've a groove in my hand from digging in one of my fingernails over that!

dozzzy, Souvenir and MikeUK - I'm so sorry for your horrible experiences and I'm so glad I didn't read them til just now! :eek: :)

Thanks for all your input everyone. It gave me something to think about and grab ahold of. I was terrified waiting in the waiting area and nearly ran out. :o It's weird how doing something you've done many, many times before without much of a thought suddenly seems very scary in a different culture... eventhough intellectually you know it won't be that different. That surprised me - I've been here over 4 years!

And I go back tomorrow for a cleaning... :eek:
... but I love that stuff.

Re: dental poll
 

so didn't your dentist have balls then?

glad it went well for you- brave woman

Re: dental poll
 

Great to hear that your experience went well!