Dentist unable to keep me numb enough to do dental work.

[bethybug138]

OMG! PLEASE tell me I am not the only one! I went to the dentist yesterday to start putting on a crown. They have to "prep" the 1st day and finish the 2nd visit. In order to prep you have to have your tooth drilled on....through the enamel I guess. Anyway, after 5 injections... and a little drilling... he was unable to keep me numb enough to finish. He said he had reached the max amount of injections and that more would damage my liver. So they put a coating on my tooth and made an appt for 2 weeks from now. I am not able to have epinephrine in the injections even though I know it lasts longer. He said he would research to see if he could use Marcaine (I think) if it came without epinephrine. Also they told me that some days you could get numb easier than other days..... WHAT???? Injections DO wear off on me fast but I went in there thinking I could get through this and now I am anxious as heck! They told me it would not hurt his feelings if I went somewhere else where they either sedate or do something besides injections. I have made an appt with a dentist I don't know now... but because they will take my insurance and will give me gas. Sorry...this is my first post and I tried searching but did not find this exact problem. I would love to see info from experts and non-experts that have maybe been through this. I asked if they got any other people like me and they said not usually... they were nice but I could tell they did not know what to do with me. I am very compliant... not a nervous person...but THIS is freaking me OUT!

 

[Zuri Barniv]

Many people think they are "allergic" to the epinephrine in anesthetics because it makes their heart race. If you were allergic to epinephrine, you would long be dead because your body secretes it all day long. Giving anesthetics without epinephrine can cause many numbing problems like yours. Injecting anesthetics very slowly can usually alleviate the problem you might have. There are also other methods of administering anesthetics you will need to look up like "intraosseous" and "periodontal ligament" injections. These usually do the trick for patients that can't get numb. Incidentally, it takes a lot more than 5 shots to damage your liver.
Dr. Barniv

 

[bethybug138]

Many people think they are "allergic" to the epinephrine in anesthetics because it makes their heart race. If you were allergic to epinephrine, you would long be dead because your body secretes it all day long. Giving anesthetics without epinephrine can cause many numbing problems like yours. Injecting anesthetics very slowly can usually alleviate the problem you might have. There are also other methods of administering anesthetics you will need to look up like "intraosseous" and "periodontal ligament" injections. These usually do the trick for patients that can't get numb. Incidentally, it takes a lot more than 5 shots to damage your liver.
Dr. Barniv

Thank you for your answer Dr. Barniv. I went to another dentist who gave me gas and injections but still was unable to numb me enough in one area. She is making a crown with a band because of that. That was a lower back tooth and she said it was harder to numb plus I must have a (forget the word she used) but basically a weird nerve in that tooth. I am interested in other ways to numb and I will be asking her about that. Thank you so much for the information!