Dental injection pain

[meredithBe]

I went to the dentist the other day to have a filling. The injection was very painful and I felt and heard a crunch when it went in. Went numb very quickly but I now have a shooting pain from my gum into my ear. I'm wondering if anyone knows if this is normal for a while or not? Dentist is now on holiday leave for a week! Not had a filling before.

Also still can't open my mouth fully as it's so sore, but it was only 2 days ago so may be just swollen still!

Was your gum not numbed before the injection?

Also we're you having a block? What LA was used?

That’s not normal. When I had a dental injection recently it stung whilst going in but I felt nothing during or after the operation. Ate lunch an hour after absolutely fine.

Sounds like it may have hit a nerve - ask to see another dentist there.

They put a bit of gel on first but that only stopped the pain of the needle breaking the skin. When it went in it went crunch which made me want to throw up! When the liquid went in it was extremely painful. No idea what was used.

Injections into the gum can be painful if the liquid anaesthetic is cold. It should be warmed up so it's not painful, that's one possibility. Don't know about a 'crunch'. I've had lots of injections and never experienced that. Does sound out of the ordinary and needs checking as you are still in pain.

I’ve never ever had post-injection pain. Ring the surgery on Monday if you’re still suffering or worried.

In future, ask the dentist to inject s l o w e l y.
A dentist recommended this to me and for sure it really works to prevent discomfort.

Similarly if I need any injection now, I ask the medic to inject slowly. No more sore arms!

I've just found this:

The tip of the needle should not be brought to the periosteum for two reasons:
– First, the local anesthetic does not penetrate so deeply and the sensation of the needle, which reaches the periosteum is extremely painful.
– Secondly, the tip of the needle will blunt. In the next puncture of the mucosa, the blunt end of the needle will not cut the tissue but will tear it. The doctor will feel this as a characteristic crunch, and the patient will feel severe pain.

Eurgh

Well in the light of that, sounds like poor dental technique and I wouldn't go there again!

Can you say what tooth it was you were having done?
Sounds like an ID block that didn’t go very well.

If this was a lower tooth and the injection was at the back of the mouth , then this was an ID block .

The dentist uses certain landmarks to try to put the anaesthetic close to the nerve that supplies sensation to the lower jaw. Occaisionally they can be very very accurate and hit the nerve supplying the jaw, typically there is a “lightening bolt” type of pain and very quick and deep anaesthesia . The nerve can be a bit bruised for a few days afterwards and it can be a bit painful but it settles.

The anatomy of this area varies greatly from person to person and with some people it is very difficult to get close enough to the nerve to numb up accurately.

This is not a sign of poor technique , but a well known complication of a very accurate block injection .