[Bungleau]

My sentiments remain the same from Lady Z's other thread...

Two experiences, one nasty and the other funny. In the nasty one, my mom's dentist when I was growing up was the reason I didn't go to a dentist for over ten years. He was working on me for something or another (filling, probably), and I was crying because it hurt. He stepped back and literally said, "What are you crying for? That doesn't hurt!" Made me feel like an idiot and a baby (at age eleven or twelve, IIRC). When I finally got back to seeing a dentist, I explained my situation and fears of pain in my mouth, and my dentist has worked wonders with me since then. In fact, got a checkup in a couple of weeks... The funny one is that I had all four wisdom teeth removed at the same time. The guy who removed them? Doctor Fear.... [Big Grin] Offered me the chance of local or general anasthetic. I told him to knock me out, and I went from "ten... nine... eight... " to "what's this cotton you're pulling out of my mouth?" Best decision I ever made regarding dentistry.

and

I've got three crowns, and the first one set the stage for the rest. Dentist gave me a shot of something, let it take effect, then started working. A minute or two later, he was surprised when I felt something. Pulled out, gave me another shot, wait, repeat. Third shot was of a different kind of anasthesia, as was the fourth. By the time we got to the sixth (no kidding!), I told him to just go ahead and do it, and I'd just grit my way through it. The procedure since then is simple: I arrive 30 minutes early and get two shots, one each of two different kinds of anasthesia. Wait thirty minutes, and then he goes to work. Haven't felt anything since... gotta love a dentist who pays attention to you. [Big Grin]

That same multi-shot approach has worked wonders with both root canals I've had. After the last one in May, I didn't need any additional painkillers because the bad tooth being dead was so much of a relief...