Why Do My Shots Hurt So Much?

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Hello there,

I had a cavity filled and my dentist tried to numb me with anesthetic. However, the shot hurt horribly. I’m sensitive to shots. The next time I needed numbing, I asked him to be gentle when giving it, but he ignored my request, and the shot hurt just as bad as before.

I have to get another filling but I am hesitant to go back to this dentist. It hurts too much. Can I do something before my appointment to make it hurt less? Or is there a way to get him to be more gentle this time around?

Connor, from Detroit, Michigan

 

Hi Connor,

When you asked your dentist the first time to be more gentle, he should have listened to you instead of ignoring you. Sometimes dentists get stuck in their ways. However, dentists need to maintain a good level of bedside manner in order to gain the patient’s trust, so he was in the wrong here.

One way to decrease the pain associated with the shot is to ask the dentist to use numbing gel. Leaving numbing gel on the gums first can help. Also, the dentist should administer the shot slowly instead of quickly. Doing it slowly allows the body to absorb the medicine better; doing it fast can cause bubbling at the injection site, or stretching of the skin.

If you are sensitive to shots, it may be because of the nerves in your jaw. Everyone’s bodies are different, and your dentist is administering the shoot where it is most likely to be effective. However, while this may cause no pain for most people, if your facial nerves are near the injection site, it will hurt you a lot more than it would otherwise. The dentist cannot control where your facial nerves are, so if this is the case, you may want to look for a gentle dentist or sedation dentist.

A cosmetic dentist who practices gentle or sedation dentistry will listen to your concerns. They will have a much more improved bedside manner than your current dentist. To have your sensitivities addressed, you may want to seek a different dentist.

This blog post is brought to you by Baton Rouge sedation dentist, Dr. Steven Brooksher, of Dentistry by Brooksher.

Is It OK That I Got Porcelain Veneers While I was Pregnant?

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Hi,

I recently finished getting a set of porcelain veneers. I didn’t know it during treatment, but I was pregnant at the time. I’m just in my first trimester, but could this have hurt my baby? I’m freaking out that I did something wrong.

Thank you,

Juno, from Frankenstein, Missouri

 

Hi Juno,

During the first trimester, you often don’t know you are pregnant. The only possibly harmful thing you could have been exposed to is local anesthetic. However, this is one of the safest medications around, and has been used on pregnant women before with no problems for years. The most common local anesthetic is Lidocaine, and it has been proven to be safe to use during pregnancy.

The good news is, you probably don’t have anything to worry about. Dentists are taught in dental school to avoid scheduling pregnant women during the first and third trimesters. The first trimester, you are most sensitive to chemicals and foreign substances like metal, and the last trimester it’s best to avoid stress. You have not harmed your baby, but it would probably be best to avoid any further work at this time.

This blog post is brought to you by Baton Rouge porcelain veneer provider, Dr. Steven Brooksher, of Dentistry by Brooksher.