I don’t know what to do. I have some kind of resistance to Novocain. Even after several shots I can feel everything. This has caused quite a few problems as you can imagine. I have a lot of work to catch up on and now I am wondering if the only way to get it handled is with hospitalization under anesthesia. I’ll do that if I have to but the expense will be astronomical. My dentist can’t figure it out. I’m just throwing a Hail Mary here and hoping you’ve encountered it and can give me another option.
Peter
Dear Peter,
Well, I have good news and great news for you. Yes, I have encountered this. I even have a solution for you. I’m not surprised your dentist didn’t know the solution. Though the cause is starting to become more well-known, there isn’t a ton of literature on it.
Much of the time it is caused by some form of dental anxiety. You may not even have been aware of it the first time. Then, when the medicine didn’t work, it would naturally grow higher. Even the bravest people can have some anxiety in the dental chair. Often that results from a difficult experience with the dentist as a child.
Physiologically, we’ve learned that when a patient is anxious, the metabolism kicks up. This burns off the Novocain the dentist is using to numb you. Hence, the pain during your appointments.
The Solution When You Can’t Get Numb
I want you to find a dentist who offers sedation options. For someone in your situation, I usually recommend oral conscious sedation. This is administered by a pill and completely relaxes you. It is so strong, you will need someone to drive you to and from your appointment as well as stay with you for a few hours when it is completed until you are lucid again.
This is different from anesthesia in a couple of ways. First, it costs significantly less. Second, you aren’t “out”. While most patients are so relaxed they sleep through the procedure, that is up to you. You are able to communicate if you want to. It’s up to you.
There is a side benefit to this type of sedation. It allows your dentist to get more work done in each sitting, enabling you to catch up with your dental work much faster.
This blog is brought to you by Grosse Pointe Dentist Dr. Theodore Hadgis.