From your experience, do dentists vary in performing painless procedures?
Assuming you’ve been to separate dentists. :]
I, unfortunately, have. I don’t like pain (as I’m sure most don’t), but I have a very, very low tolerance for it. I’ve been to a total of three separate dentists.
I had a tooth capped by one.
With another, I had a molar extracted.
With the last one, I had 3 cavities filled.
The first and the last dentists caused me pain that I’d never felt before. They both accepted my parent’s insurance though. The dentist that extracted my tooth didn’t hurt me at all. He, however, was extremely expensive and didn’t accept my parent’s insurance.
Anyhow, I was just wondering if anyone has dealt with something similar.
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7 Answers
The dentist that I now use is very good. He hires dental assistants for cleaning who are very professional, and the work he does directly is mostly pain free. However, his fees are above the so-called customary for our area so our insurance doesn’t pay in full, but it’s well worth the extra.
I’ve noticed a lot of differences between dentists. I’ve had dentists that didn’t believe in numbing before some procedures while others swear by it. I like my current dentist and will miss him when we move.
I’ve only had two dentists and the latter one has done more serious procedures with less pain than the former has done cleaning. The difference is whether or not the dentist paid attention to my phobia of dentists and pain.
The biggest difference I’ve noticed is in how well they give the lidocaine injections. Some dentists I’ve been to give shots that hurt like heck, some others it just feels like a little pinch. I have had differing experiences afterward, like with certain filings staying hot and cold sensitive longer than others.
My dentist is very concerned about eliminating pain. He makes sure all his assistants share that view. He’s a pretty expensive dentist, although insurance does cover a lot.
Unfortunately, he gave me a crown a couple of months ago, and it still hurts. I haven’t told them yet, because the lady at the front desk told me if it wasn’t working, I’d have to get a root canal. I’m not interested in that.
Different dentists use different methods depending, I suppose, on different training, experience and degree of empathy for the patient. My current dentist, for example, uses a technique to lessen pain from a needle prick by doing something that not one of my previous dentists ever did: as he inserts the needle in a gum, he gently pinches and wiggles the inside of that cheek. It really works.
The key is to use lots of topical anesthetic before the shot, make sure you get the shot right (don’t miss especially with a nerve block), then make sure the patient is numb enough- at the cheaper places your’e always in a hurry, some people take along time to get numb, therefore you have dentists doing the procedure before the lidocaine has taken good enough hold.
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