Why don't dental anaesthetics seem to work on me?

[Mirage]

A few weeks ago I had an old filling drilled out and a temporary cap put on.The dentist gave me an injection,but it was still very painful,so much so that I was shaking in the chair.Yesterday I went back for the proper cap to be fitted and mentioned how painful the first procedure was,so the dentist gave me 4 injections [which were pretty awful by her own admitting],left it a bit longer to take effect,but it was still painful as she drilled the temp cap off.I'd taken painkillers at home before I went too,and just don't understand why after all those jabs,it still hurt enough to make me jump.I seem to remember the original filling 2 years ago hurt too.

My mum had a similar procedure done at her dentist and said that she never felt a thing.I just can't understand why mine was so different.Do some people not react as well to the anaesthetic? I've had 2 babies without pain relief,so don't class myself as a wimp,but am dreading needing any further treatment.
Thanks.

Oh I have this. Strangely enough I also had an epidural with my first son which was apparently positioned perfectly etc but for no apparent reason had no effect. Just hope I never need surgery!!

Have you got red hair?

I have to have multiple injections and it still hurts so I have massive empathy - I'm phobic as well so I used to just have intravenous Valium and sleep through it instead

For me it's a combination of weirdly placed nerves (accordingly to the Dentist) and that I have hypermobility which apparently means I will have an unnatural tolerance to the anesthetic they use.

I have the same issue. Last time I had a filling, I had so many injections the dentist nearly had to send me home as I had had so many. On the last attempt, he brought in another dentist and hey presto, this dentist injected into the right nerve and it worked. Now I think that my first dentist was a bit crap and aiming the injection in the wrong place

Last time i went to the dentist and had an injection, i started to react badly, i went really shaky and couldnt stop myself for no reason and i still felt all the pain! It really hurts, i have sworn that i wont have anything done unless i am out of it, NEVER EVER AGAIN, i felt like i was going to pass out, got out of the dentists and went hazy and then had to get the bus home. I felt really rubbish afterwards, but my NOSE did go numb, for the rest of the day! Typical.

Oh thank you all.I thought I was some kind of freak,but evidently not if it isn't just me.I do have red hair,but it is out of a bottle so can't blame that.

I can completely understand why people refuse treatment now.If I ever have to have anything else done I'm going to insist on either being knocked out completely or ask frof valium,like MrsD.Thanks for the tip!

I'm in this club too. Last time which was 6 years ago I had £350 of anaesthetic in me for one small filling, no numbness but lots of shaking afterwards. The anaesthetic was the stuff used for bone surgery.

I got referred to the anxiety management clinic at the local teaching hospital and now get everything done there under sedation. The issue is that I am not anxious but just metabolise the anaesthetic quickly.

That's interesting slalomsuki.How did you find out about metabolising anaesthetic quickly? I have a high metabolisum foodwise,and am beginning to wonder if that is anything to do with it.

Same procedure as mirage planned for tomorrow
I'm so glad I read this thread

Not

I have this too.It makes fillings very scary-and new dentists never believe me "oh no,you will be fine "until I leap in the air shrieking. My current dentist did think maybe the nerves are positioned slightly oddly.I don't know.And I'm not a red-head,sadly, although there are quite a few in the family and I am a celt.

I know this thread's a bit old now but I've just found it. I have exactly the same thing, and had the same experience with a non-working epidural. It means I am beyond terrified of any potential (hypothetical) c-section.

How do you find out if you metabolise anaesthetic differently?

I have weird anatomy and hard to get numb. need about double the allocated dose to then get numb, it then wears off quickly. I had to find a very experienced dentist. Went to one who sometimes is in Maxfax at work. Used a number of techniques, the best being GOW GATES, followed up by site infiltration. Worked every time since. Experience is everything in my experience. Worth trying a number of them to find one with the flexibility of approaches to suit you.