My gums are very, very sensitive so I’ve always had a gentle dentist. I moved an hour away from my former dentist and my schedule doesn’t allow me to travel back there for appointments. My previous dentist would numb my gums before giving me a shot. I didn’t feel a thing. My new dentist has a different technique of holding the tip of the needle on my gums for about 15 seconds and then giving the shot. Well it doesn’t work. It hurt extremely bad and I asked him for something to numb me, but he wouldn’t do it. He gave me two shots. I felt insulted like a child and I started hyperventilating because of the pain. He didn’t continue with the filling, but he left me in the office with his assistant. When the dentist left, the assistant apologized and said the dentist shouldn’t have done that and she doesn’t understand what he was thinking.
I was supposed to get a dental filling that day, but I didn’t. I was scheduled for another appointment and I regret going back. This time he did numb me, but it’s 4 days later and I am still waiting for the numbness to completely go away. This jerk is not a gentle dentist at all. Is there permanent damage to my gums? Emee
Emee – Your dentist was neither gentle nor careful. It sounds like he hit a tooth nerve when giving you the injection. When care is not taken during an injection, it increases the changes of grazing or puncturing a nerve. If that’s the case, your numbness should gradually go away with a week or two. It is extremely rare for a nerve to be permanently severed, but if it is, numbness is permanent.
We have a few suggestions:
- Wait a few more days. If the numbness doesn’t go away, you can get a second opinion from a true gentle dentist.
- You probably don’t want to return to your current dentist anyway, so be proactive and start searching online for a gentle dentist.
- Check online reviews, ask friends and family for recommendations, and call each office to find out what is done to ensure your comfort.
It is likely that the numbness in your tooth will resolve with time. Best wishes.
This post is sponsored by Baton Rouge dentist Dr. Steven Collins.