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I can I get over my fear of needles?
Hi Dr Jennifer,
I recently went to the dentist and had to have two molars extracted, one of which was my wisdom tooth. the dentist injected my mouth about four times and I felt that the needle was really big and very painful. I have had injections in the past but never had a problem before. I went to the reception area to wait for the numbness to get stronger then went back in. When the dentist started to try to get one of the tooth roots out I could feel it and it was painful. I told the dentist who then injected the area two more times.I could still feel it the next time and she said it was a bit infected which is why it was hurting. She then injected the area again and used a syringe as well. Now I feel like I have needle phobia as just the thought of having to be injected again fills me with dread. Is there any way to deal with this head on before it gets out of control?
Thanks for your time,
Janice
Hello Janice
your experience sounds unpleasant.
It does sound as if you had a tooth with infection in it if you needed several injections .
It also sounds as if the dentist wasnt very sensitised to being able to give less painful injections .
There are two things you could do . Try not to leave teeth till they are so bad that they are infected .
The other thing may be to find a more empathetic dentist , and make sure that they wait long enough for the local to work .
I sometimes have to give top ups if somebody indicates some discomfort , but there are some tools like the Wand which make delivery of injections mostly painless .
If your next treatment is for a filling then you should go back to having no problems and this was a one off
Jenny
