I fell asleep when I had a root canal filling; I had a lot of injections, and couldn't feel a thing. It was so warm, and there was music on the radio, so I just drifted off for about fifteen minutes.

I get a lot of dental work done...I inherited brittle teeth from my father. So I have these fears that they'll slip in my mouth and cut my cheek or something. Once he did start working on the opposite side of my mouth that he had not numbed until I begged him to stop.

Yeah, I agree. I specifically ask my dentist to not give me Novocaine when I get a filling. I think that sitting around with a numb mouth for half the day is much worse than just dealing with the filling. But that's just me.

Yeah it is just you. An hour of numbness is nothing - amusing even. But dealing with completely unnecessary pain is pointless.

I've never had any local anesthetic last an hour. It's always three or four. I'd much rather deal with the minor pain of a tooth being drilled than the annoyance of not being able to use my mouth properly for three hours.

#58 I've hardly had any cavities filled... but the times I have I wasn't numbed and it didn't hurt at all, it just feels a bit odd (and even that you hardly feel at all). I don't know what the hell that dentist was doing that the patient had to be screaming in pain.

But it really doesn't hurt? The numbing shots sting and thats more unnessary pain than the entire drilling and filling process. Perhaps it was because my cavities were quite small but I felt no pain?

Trust me, it hurts. Painkillers don't really work on me. My last filling I was given an injection but it still hurt really badly...I managed to stay still and quiet so they could finish the job but I was silently crying my eyes out. Next time I might just ask them to put me out properly.

I recently had cavities filled, and have to go again soon and you better believe I had my mouth numbed, and the laughing gas with all the fixings. Fact is; while a filling can barely feel like anything for you, for myself I know it hurts even WITH all the numb...ers. People can feel the same pain differently.

I just came back from the dentist where I had two fillings done. I did not feel the injection at all because numbing gel was used prior to the injection. Even with the injections I felt the drill near the nerve so there's no way in he'll I'd go without getting numbed ahead of time. It's been 45 minutes and I have most of the feeling back in my lip.

I wonder how terrible everyone's cavities have been if they were in pain. What, were they developing for several years before they were finally discovered and filled? I have had (one-surface, shallow) cavities filled, without ANY anesthetic, and felt absolutely no pain. No one should feel like a dentist is "drilling near the nerve." If you felt anything, it was because your dentist drilled deep into the dentin of the tooth, not a "nerve," and if your cavities are deep this is unavoidable. If the dentist had drilled into the pulp, on the other hand, and the pulp tissue died, you would have needed a root canal. But people who don't go to treat their cavities until the cavities have grown THAT deep need root canals anyway. They also tend to be the people who don't go to the dentist until they notice they're in pain. Moral of the story: take better care of those teeth, and/or change dentists, and/or go for semiannual checkups with cleanings (2 per year, you can do it) so you can FIND the cavities before they become huge, and you won't have these problems.

Just became a dental assistant. In just a few weeks I've seen quite a few injections be given the same way with a wide variety of reactions ranging from nothing at all to screaming bloody murder. One can't assume that everyone's threshold for pain is the same. I feel bad for the OP

I'm quite certain that the intensity and lenght of time it takes for the effect to wear off depends on at the invidual, type of anesthetic used, where it's applied to and how much. For myself, today was the last of the five sessions it took to fill the roots of a tricky tooth on my lower jaw; it was painless, and the numbness was gone before I got home. This compared to last week, when I spent 5 hours in that chair over the same tooth, only having been numbed once in the beginning - yet I still couldn't taste a thing for hours after they let me home for the day. So it's natural people's experiences vary. BUT anyone who seriously thinks the pain is nothing and OP is being a wuss: Please go have a badly infected and bleeding tooth's root channels drilled, right now. I can promise not many people would choose that over a couple stinging needles.

@137: That's a root canal. Not a filling for a cavity. It's a COMPLETELY different procedure, and does NOT involve any drilling into the roots of the teeth itself -- a hole is drilled into the tooth so the canals can be accessed, but the canals are emptied and cleaned WITHOUT a diamond drill, and most dentists allow this procedure to be performed over several appointments on different days to minimize potential complications from infection. Don't be stupid. On a side note, I HAVE also seen this procedure performed on patients who requested that the dentist NOT give them anesthetic.

I think 137 is comparing the anesthetic experience rather than the treatment itself. No need to start offending people in order to make yourself feel more prestigious.

I've had two fillings in the last three months and in both cases I was back to normal feeling within an hour. And at the second appointment she drilled off a bit of the previous filling as it was packed high enough to affect my bite. But that was a top tooth and she'd only numbed the bottom for the other filling and the un-numbed drilling DID hurt. I could bear the pain if I needed to, but I see no point in enduring pain when pain relief is available.

#134 Spoken like a person who can afford regular dental care.

157 Over here standard dental care is free but I still thought 134's comment was over-the-top. I take great care of my teeth but I AM unlucky - my fillings have all been from various accidents, for example, falling and landing on my chin whilst rollerblading when I was about 12. No amount of toothbrushing and semi-annual check-ups can prevent that.

Sewed him with what? Cotton thread?

With floss, obviously

sewed his hand to a table cloth? *gets cross stitching kit*... i can handle this :)