To think I shouldn’t come out of the dentist crying and shaking.

[Bellabluea]

Hi all. So I need an upper molar out. The dentist tried last week and could only get the bottom half out leaving 3 deep roots which it turns out are infected. He numbed me but I swear I felt so much I couldn’t let him. He gave me a course of antibiotics and I went back today. I took strong painkillers before I left and he numbed me apparently. I was anxious but I was assured it would be better after the antibiotics.

I feel like I’ve been assaulted. My body went into shakes and I started crying. I could feel him trying to pull out my tooth and the pain was horrendous. I kept grabbing his arm and he said I needed to let him and that I was numbed.
he tried a couple of times and I tried so hard to let him and be brave but I just couldn’t.
i left crying and drove home in shock.
DH has never seen me so traumatised and I am not soft. I have had children without pain relief and I’m not someone who is an anxious person.
The dental assistant kept giving me tissues and asking if I was alight. She looked really concerned but the dentist just came across as a bit irritated and said my anxiety was stopping me.
he did another X-ray at the end and said there was a deep infection which was why I felt something and I ran out of there with a promise of an appointment somewhere else for sedation.

I think I just needed to write it down. My reaction shocked me and my body just took over. I still can’t stop crying.

am I just being soft?

Some people do not respond well to standard lidocaine. It can be ineffective, it might be worth asking if they can use an alternate anaesthetic?

YANBU

Sounds awful! You should file a complaint. He has a duty of care and if any infection was present you won't have been properly numb.

I hate British dentistry the standards are absolutely shocking. Nowhere else in the world would this type of thing ever be allowed.

I would be asking about a general anaesthetic, but obviously you need to get the infection dealt with first.

That sounds awful. I tried having a tooth pulled that was painful then was given antibiotics for the infection, went back and tried again and was painless I could have napped through it. Really hope you get it sorted. Tooth ache is the worse pain.

Poor you, OP, that sounds awful.

I had a painless extraction but a root canal where I was sobbing in the chair. The dentist kept saying things like "if you can't tolerate it" the tooth could be taken out. Like it was a failing on my part that some aspects of modern dentistry are barbaric.

Twice I've been to dentist needing a tooth removed and twice the anaesthesia didn't work (due to infection), it's absolutely horrendous having teeth pulled when you can feel it happening.

Both times I came out shaking and teary-eyed, receptionist made me sit down for a bit and wait for someone to pick me up. I think they were worried I'd pass out.

But I completely understand the pain you were in and the whole ordeal has left you with some form of PTSD, I know I'm terrified of needing anaesthesia and it not working!

Why would the op file a complaint, she had a medical privy that hurt and she wasn’t abo to tolerate it. Hardly grounds for complaining unless of course you were in the room watching the whole thing
i absolutely hate this fucking blame culture.

Thank you. He didn’t give me more antibiotics. just said if there was pain to ring and he’d give me more.
The irony is I didn’t have toothache to begin with!
He did an X-ray and said there was an infection and the tooth needed to come out. He didn’t give me antibiotics at the time - just made an appointment to get the tooth out the following week.

I just can’t stop crying I don’t know what’s the matter with me. I had a missed call from them while I was driving back - I probably shouldn’t have been driving in hindsight.

I just needed to talk. Thanks for listening.

That sounds awful.

I had a similar experience. Upper molar. They got the tooth out but the roots would not budge.

In the end three dentists came in to give it a whirl. My face looked like I'd been beaten up the next day.

Eventually I was referred to a specialist who explained my tooth and roots were unusual, in that it was like a number 8.
The root was far bigger than the whole through which they were trying to pull them.

I ended up having to have part of my jaw sawed away to release it.

Lord knows what damage the original dentists would have done if they actually managed to get it out 😳

@giggly I am a healthcare professional myself and I always give the benefit of the doubt. I wouldn’t dream of a compo claim but I do feel complaints handled internally can improve practice.
This dentist came highly recommended so I trusted him.
He made me feel like I was soft.
I am absolutely hard as nails and have had teeth removed previously without incident.
I told him I usually need many injections to go numb but he gave me two and said they were working. I don’t know. Maybe it was me 🤷‍♀️

Jesus Christ 😫😫
I fucking hate teeth.

That happened to me during covid ,I was making a hell of a noise they shut the door and put music on .it was also infected and she numbed it plenty but I could feel the whole thing and the instruments touching the tooth was utter agony.
i also stumbled down the stairs with blood dripping down my face ,shaking ,not even offered a tissue or a chair .
thats nhs dentist for you ..
had I of been able to see a dentist when I needed one ,I wouldn’t of needed the tooth taking out

The crying is normal under the circumstances, you've been through a traumatic event and your body is in a bit of shock. If I could I'd give you a hug and make you a tea or coffee, when you're allowed to drink a hot drink.

Lidocaine doesn't work well in inflamed or infected tissue.

Poor DH learned this the hard way having an infected cyst removed and the surgeon explained he had given loads of local but due to the infection it wasn't working. DH had to just grit his teeth until the end.

Just get them to refer you to the nearest dental hospital. I did that with a broken tooth that they couldn't get the root out.

Got knocked out with a twilight anaesthetic and I was in and out in 30 minutes. Got taken home after a few hours and whilst still sore afterwards was nothing like previous pain.

If it's infected they shouldn't even touch it!

I had one with infected roots that was so painful no amount of numbing helped. Magically after a course of antibiotics the injections worked and it was a totally painless extraction.

In my case I was referred to a different dentist and they'd put on my notes that I was nervous and needed sedation. I wasn't nervous, I was in agony from an infected nerve!

They also forgot to note I can't have adrenaline with the pain relief as it makes me faint. So I nearly fainted on the stairs and had to sit with a nurse and a cup of sugary drink until I could walk again.

Im so sorry you went through this, your dentist is terrible.

n dental treatments, adrenaline is commonly added to 2% lidocaine solutions to facilitate vasoconstriction. Constriction of blood vessels and the subsequent reduction in blood flow to the injection site can reduce the rate of absorption of the anaesthetic.

The adrenaline is what makes you shake and feel like you have sky high anxiety.

The adrenaline in the pain relief injection can make you incredibly shaky and tearful. I think it is included to reduce bleeding, but it is the same hormone that you secrete naturally in a fright/fight/flight situation, so it's not surprising that it can trigger that reaction in you if you are already nervous or distressed.

I hate British dentistry the standards are absolutely shocking. Nowhere else in the world would this type of thing ever be allowed.

What a ridiculous statement.

Given all the counties that don't have access to decent dental treatment at all and the sort of cheap dentistry in countries like Turkey where they do things like fit veneers which then have to be rectified by our 'absolutely shocking dentists', I think that this sort of thing is very much allowed in very many parts of the worlds.

The OP's dentist isn't typical of any dentist I've ever been to.

I have a fantastic dentist who takes x-rays and photos for anything invasive she does and she would never start doing anything before ensuring her patient's jaw is numbed properly.

In your case OP it sounds like this needs to be done at a dental hospital under a general aesthetic and maybe try to find yourself a better dentist.

Is it possible to ask for the anaesthetic without the adrenaline?

I had to have a tooth out but yeh adrenaline made me feel so sick and I fainted, came to after the dentist tilted the chair head downwards!

I’ve since moved and have been putting off going to the new dentists because I hated it so much. Pretty sure I’ve got another tooth that needs to come out now I’ve put off a visit for far too long.

I've had a similar experience and it was not pleasant, I had to ring someone to come and get me because I was so wobbly, I'm not soft either, nor ever been scared of the dentist or anxious about medical or dental procedures but my tooth was infected and it took a lot to get it out, the pain was unreal and I have a high pain threshold judging by the injuries I've had in the past and my tolerance for them, but this was something else.

I was made to feel like it was a weakness on my part or because I was anxious about it, and I kinda believed that until I saw the state of my face 12 hours later, I looked like I'd been beaten up with the swelling and bruises - and I could feel everything at the time because the anaesthetic didn't work.

I would never have a tooth out under local again, I have refused to have one out recently because it's not causing me any problems despite being well broken. It can stay where it is!

I have had a root canal recently and that was a walk in the park compared to the extraction and I was actually quite nervous for that considering what I experienced with the extraction. As a pp said I think your reaction is normal and I reacted the same way - take some time and self care tonight and then look to see what alternatives you might have to sort the tooth out when you've calmed down.

I'm always at the dentist but I get traumatised every time the little hoover goes near me. It sends my anxiety into overdrive. I think you need sedating to remove the roots, theres no way you can go through that again, you'll get PTSD.

Some people pain threshold is smaller than others , he should not make you feel ashamed for it . You will probably be having it in hospital now so you will be ok don’t worry

Also, lidocaine doesn't work if if it's injected into the wrong nerve in the wrong part of your jaw.

My previous denstist never listened to me when I said 'I can still feel it' (and that was just with a deep filling, not an extraction). My current denstist, as soon as I explained the issues I'd been having, especially with lower jaw issues, examined me and said, 'But your nerves aren't in the 'normal place' so no wonder injections didn't work before - but your dentist should have known that too (I wouldn't mind, but previous dentist was private, too, as was my new one 😡)

But my 'new' dentist (I've had him for a few years now, so maybe not so new!) has put my mind at rest. She says no one should experience pain at the dentist, and she's passionate about that. She's put right all the other things my previous dentist hadn't done right (mostly because I wasn't numbed properly because of my oddly placed nerves) and now - when, I will admit, I was on the verge of complete dental phobia - my dentist has given me my faith back. She's also private (but I'm happy to pay) and I've recommended so many friends to her (especially nervous friends) because she really is that good.

OP, please look at other options if you can. I know private costs, but when it comes to being confident at the dentist, I think that's a price worth paying. My dentist has always said no one should ever feel pain at the dentist, so if you have had a bad experience, then it's not your fault, but the fault of the dentist (in some way). Please seek a 2nd opinion