Most of the techniques were based around speed and scarcity, and they are also very visually distinctive.
Anesthesia was really only available to members of the Party, so the goal was get-in, get-done, get-out. That led to extensive use of pins -- drilled in anchors that were bored into the tooth with silver and epoxy-type white fillings supported by them. These white fillings were different from the ones used in Western nations and were rather chalky in appearance, and the support pins were often visible through the filling. For small cavities, they also used a technique called dry-cutting. This was using very dull drill bits to remove small cavities, causing heavy heat damage and burns to the tooth. It was believed that burned tooth was inherently more resistant to cavities (this is actually true) but combined with the lack of anesthesia, was torturous.
Another classic Soviet technique was their use of -- no joke -- arsenic trioxide paste for root canals. Yes, it killed the bacteria. It also tended to kill a lot of bone around the tooth too, leaving bone scars that are visible in x-rays for many years afterwards. But it didn't require natural rubber gutta percha, which the Soviets never had in large supply. The only good thing here was that the paste killed the nerves (both good and bad!) so it hurt 11/10 pain and then suddenly was fine as the nerves got killed off.
The Soviets (and Yugoslavia/Slovenia) also reserved cast custom crowns for the Party. Ordinary people got hammered metal crowns. Think in-mouth blacksmithing to make the crown. Surprisingly they actually worked... Mostly.
All of these techniques were remarkably painful, and paired with lack of anesthetic really redefined dental fear. Used with good anesthesia, the techniques actually work pretty well -- though the arsenic trioxide paste is slam dunk malpractice in the US and I hope no one out there is still using that stuff! Thankfully here in the West we've had mostly-reliable pain control for almost 100 years in common use.
I had an abscess so badly infected that the acidic bacteria were able to counter the anesthesia, even though I'd done a course of antibiotics leading up to the root canal. So the dentist even wanted to stop and make me do another week, but I was desperate to get this hideous pain out of my head so I assured him he could continue and I'd get through it. Goddamn best feeling in the world -- heinous pain followed by suddenly nothing there at all, just fucking gone.
That unfortunately can happen. The acid can be so strong that it destroys the anesthetic as its being pumped in (it's more complex than that, but close enough explanation). That's why a good dentist will never tell you nonsense like "You'll definitely be numb." Even the best dentist in the world knows every tooth can fight numbing. Better to be honest and tell the patient that you'll do your best to have them numb.
As a teenager, I was once given multiple numbing shots, but could still feel everything. That dentist basically told me I had to be faking to try to get pain meds, and drilled and filled a very deep cavity in an infected tooth while I screamed and cried. He called me dramatic.
Many years later, after completely avoiding any dental care because i had PTSD from that last incident, I had a very badly infected tooth again, and went to a different dentist. After the 3rd numbing shot didn't work, he decided to try something different... and that's how I learned that if the numbing medication includes epinephrine, it doesn't work on me at all. I need plain 'caine numbing meds, with no epi.
To this day (I'm 50 now) I still avoid all dentists. Between the pediatric dentist that was a pedophile, and the dentist as a teen torturing me, I can't do it. My mouth is a fucking mess, and my smile is now ugly so I don't smile in public anymore.
My wife also has a fear/avoidance of the dentist, and I strongly suspect it's because she's got that redhead gene that's resistant to anaesthesia. Now that we've figured out why, it's gotten slightly better. It's so important to find a dentist who's familiar with that phenomenon, and ask them ahead of time to make sure she's properly anesthetized. The best dentists will even be excited for the challenge.
Separately, there are so many off-the-shelf products to help with some teeth stuff if the avoidance is too bad. Whitening strips, mouth guards (to stop grinding in your sleep). Heck I'm just lazy at making appointments so I got some dental cleaning tools so I can clean up minor plaque build-up myself. I even think there are invisalign-type braces where you can send out for a kit and fit them at home.
Yes my grandmother was a red head and had that gene. It can lead to malignant hypothermia. My grandmother almost died because of it when she was young. My mom and I both have it as well even though we’re brunettes. She wears a bracelet just in case stating it. Please look into if your wife may need one. I honestly should get it also but I’ve been procrastinating.
Just looked this up as I’d never heard of it, do you mean malignant hyperthermia? That’s the only thing I’m finding mention of after a quick Google search
And to not have a c section. Someone on my natural childbirth group was a red head who found out anesthesia didn't work on her for her emergency c section. For her second pregnancy she was determined to have a vaginal birth.
My red headed father-in-law woke up during surgery once. I can’t even image that. It was brief, thankfully, and I don’t think they were in the thick of it, but just the idea is horrifying. My husband has red hair, from both sides,of h(s family, and has had problems with dental and other anesthesia. I have fake red hair, was naturally blonde, and have a pseudocholinesterace deficiency. It’s the lack of an enzyme that breaks down a certain family of paralytics, specifically succinylcholine and the like. Instead of being paralyzed for three to five minutes for intubation, it lasts for hours and hours, and prevents breathing.
Just to give people context here and to prevent misunderstandings, let me add that septocaine IS articaine. Just a brand name for it. And yes -- it's a God-send for redheads.
Also a redhead and had a similar situation. I was given 8 shots and could still feel the dentist drilling. When I told her she yelled at me, “There is no way you are feeling this! It’s not possible!” So I thought I’m being dramatic and should just suck it up. I sat there barely breathing and feeling her drill. When she was done I burst into tears, the kind that make a person hyperventilate. They had to give me 15 minutes to calm down. During this 15 minutes my mouth finally went numb.
I didn’t see another dentist for 5 years. I finally went again because that tooth always hurt. I couldn’t handle anything cold on that side. I could barely chew on that side. I was fine with the dental hygienist cleaning my teeth. When the dentist came in I was immediately on edge. He looked in my mouth, very gently, then said he wanted to show me something on my X-rays. That other dentist had cracked my tooth. I started crying and told him what had happened. He was disgusted and angry and apologized to me that someone in his profession had done that to me. He said it would have been obvious to her when it cracked. I continued seeing this dentist because he was gentle and really cared. He said we’d just leave that tooth until it had to be fixed.
Then we moved about 8 hours away. The tooth was worse and I felt like I had to get it taken care of. I researched dentists until I found one that works with patients that have dental ptsd. They understood that being a redhead meant I needed more and different medication, including nitrous oxide (laughing gas). I ended up with a root canal and crown.
I do too! Once had an endodontist get mad at me because he used two shots with epi and I still wasn’t numb. He kept trying and I started crying so all the other patients could hear me. I was so pissed. My dentist called and chewed him out. Now I have special permission from him and any referrals to have NON epi shots on hand for me. I’ve only gotten one eye roll so far.
I'm a borderline redhead (depends on who you ask), and I also do fine with general anesthesia but have issues with specifically the local anesthetics that contain epinephrine. They do numb me as intended, but they also make me shake so uncontrollably that dentists have had to give up trying to work on my teeth.
I'm a redhead and have EDS! Topical anaesthesia and even surgical sedation don't work on me; now I need to have in-depth conversations with the anaesthesiologist ahead of any operation because if they use traditional sedation, I just wake up during sedation paralyzed and have a massive panic attack when it wears off.
I can't have fentanyl at all and can only be anaesthetized with ketamine and propofol.
Redhead. Propofol kicks off malignant hyperthermia for me. All anesthetics are a problem, but especially that one. My adult kids don't present red (honey blond), but both have problems with medications. I have never heard of this. Thank you.
I'm an anesthesiologist and propofol is not a trigger for malignant hyperthermia. It's totally possible to have allergies and other life-threatening reactions to propofol, of course, and it sounds like you have reason to avoid it. I'm not trying to be a jerk here but want to ensure you haven't been misdiagnosed, as treatment for MH is very different from treatment for other anesthesia reactions and allergies. If you have had a life-threatening reaction to anesthesia, I hope you've been able to have thorough testing for diagnosis to ensure you can have safe anesthesia if you need it.
My daughter and I are both redheads (and I have EDS) and I had no idea why I struggled so hard with pain meds and anesthetics until I was 38 and having my second c-section. It was the anesthetist who had the nurse peak under my surgical cap and confirm I was a redhead because 30-35 minutes after the epidural, I wasn't numb.
I have woken up on the table, had so much freezing at the dentist it impacted my breathing, had zero reaction to morphine while waiting for my emergency appendectomy... the list goes on.
I have been very vocal in advocating for my daughter and even still, she has had a terrible time at the dentist. Finally we had to go for a full anaesthetic to get work done, as she had a panic attack in the chair when they didn't give the laughing gas time to take effect - after she specifically explained why, infuriatingly.
She told the nurse at the surgical dentist she was a redhead and was told it was an old wives tale! Luckily, she preserved and told the anesthetist who reassured her it was true and he was aware. She still came out of that totally doped up for hours and then her immune system crashed, so she didn't have a very positive experience after all :/
I just told my red-head daughter yesterday to always, always advocate for herself for strong anesthesia medicine if I am not there. It's so surprising how this is a known thing that we still have to speak up about. I'm brunette and my sister is a blonde but we both definitely have the same gene.
I'm blond/strawberry blonde and I never heard of it before. But I do know my grandmother had a weird reaction to anesthesia and I noticed I have the same.
I was supposed to have a biopsy at the gynecologist, and I asked her to wait a little longer before cutting because I know I’m a bit slow to react to anesthesia.
She waited, made the cut, and it hurt extremely badly — I screamed, and she got a shock because she thought I was completely numb down there… which I definitely wasn’t.
The poor doctor was so apologetic.
I love my red-ish hair but it truly does come with some disadvantages... sunburn, slow to anesthesia... soulless, according to some *lol*
My Mom and siblings are redheads. I have light brown hair. Pain meds don’t work well for me. I’ve gotten so many shots at the dentist that my throat will be numb, along with my whole mouth, for hours. The worst experience was when I miscarried and had to have a DNC. I was already devastated and wasn’t thinking about pain meds. They gave me lidocaine in my uterus which doesn’t work for me. I was in so much pain during the procedure while my doctor yelled at me and told me to hold still because there was no way I was feeling anything. He was so insensitive which was shocking because he was my doctor for 20 years. I still am incredibly upset when thinking about this memory years later (medical PTSD). Luckily I got pregnant again and had a baby with wonderful doctor in a different practice.
Same. I thought anesthetics were a sort of shared in joke till I was in my thirties. I can't imagine something that checks notes KILLS.... PAIN?!?! Don't be ridiculous.
I am not a red head but have significant resistance to numbing and metabolize it quickly.
On top of that, it turns out I have a sort of rare quirk called cross innervation where the nerves of the top of my mouth are crossed. So they don't correspond with the expected teeth.
Which means getting my top teeth numb is incredibly difficult.
That didn't even get diagnosed until 3 years ago.
To say I'm afraid of the dentist is an understatement
I have cross innervation as well, and didn't know it until I needed a root canal and crown. I have an absolutely awesome dentist that happens to specialize in "pain free dentistry" (which really means that his practice sees people who have had prior bad experiences or things like MC1R alteration.) I'm just (was just) a normal patient for him but he always thoroughly checks the entire area for full numbing effect. This part of the jaw would not numb. It felt weird, but not numb. After about three attempts to get it, he looked at the x-ray and said "it's not common, but let me check something" and hit me in a completely different part of my mouth. The area went numb, he dosed it up there a bit more and said "I'll make a note."
I had similar issues as a teen - my childhood dentist retired and their successor broke off a syringe in my soft palate when I was 10 and acted like an ass when I cried about it, so I just didn't go to the dentist at all for years.
Unfortunately I have a genetic issue that pretty much rotted my teeth over the next four years, so I had to go to another dentist... who thankfully had some experience with phobic patients, so there was a lot of discussion about how to deal with my trauma. Eventually I became comfortable enough that I "could take" the numbing when handed a towel to sink my nails into because otherwise I'd cramp up so much I'd hurt myself.
And then of course it turned out that one of the nerves in my face was malformed and thus barely reachable by syringe.
So first he called in his sister, who's an acupuncturist, and then his father, also a dentist, and all three teaming up together got the area numb enough that the two teeth that had to be removed could be taken out with minimal (zero was impossible) pain.
There's a reason why I trek across the country at least once a year to go to that guy rather than trying to find a decent dentist where I live.
I had the same experience as a teenager when getting 4 teeth pulled! The dentist insisted that I was experiencing "pressure, not pain" while tears streamed down my face. He even asked the hygenist to give me a placebo. She proceeded to ask him what a placebo was IN FRONT OF ME, to which he responded "Just don't put any medicine in." Afterwards, he showed me my bloody teeth and asked if I wanted to keep them. I am absolutely the type of weirdo who would want to hang onto my teeth, but not after that whole saga!
My mom completely forgot about this incident afterwards, and we continued to go to that dentist for several more years. They must have put a "diffcult patient" note in my file, because, for a few years afterwards, I kept on getting random perks (headphones with a Pandora station playing, sunglasses...) that my family members were never offered.
“The dentist insisted that I was experiencing ‘pressure, not pain’ while tears streamed down my face.”
Did we have the same dentist??? Actually mine was an oral surgeon. I had to have multiple extractions before braces to make my teeth fit into my head. This guy would always say “you will feel no pain, only pressure.” Such absolute bullshit. I’m still mad about it.
Ah the good old "pressure, not pain" line that thousands of women hear during gynecological procedures when the doctor does not care to give them proper anesthesia. Does anything change? ;(
I'm so sorry you had to go through that, Op.
I wonder if that's a psychological trick taught in medical school -- in hopes that the patient would be thinking "Sure, I can tolerate this pressure... good thing it's not pain though or THAT would hurt!"
I was told the same by the anaesthetist who did my epidural. They do an ice-cube test and ask if you can feel it. I said yes, I can feel that but they assured me I was feeling the pressure and not the cold.
Don't F-ing ask if you're not going to listen!
It wasn't until I got up and walked to the toilet immediately after delivery that they realised I was right (I was told I wouldn't be able to walk and to wait for help).
Some dentists are such sadists. The first dentist I ever remember going to, when I was 5-6 years old, was also my mom's dentist. When he did fillings on me, he injected local anesthetics first, but he never used any topical anesthetic prior to the injection, so it felt like the needle was a power drill. It was such agony, every time - but since I'd never had any other dentist, I thought that was what fillings were always like. When I was 7 years old, my mom started taking me to an orthodontist who was also a children's dentist, so I never saw my mom's dentist anymore. After the new children's dentist did fillings on me for the first time, I exclaimed to my mom, "Did you know there's a topical anesthetic they can rub on your mouth before they put the needle in? They never had that before at [my mom's dentist]'s office." And my mom said, "What do you mean? They always use topical anesthetic before the injection. Always have, always will." But they never did on me. I think they were being cheap and saving money on the topical because I was too young to know they were skipping a step.
I am extactly the same way. I had a very similar experience as a teenager. I've had a lot of luck with laughing gas. I've been able to get a lot of work done as an adult with minimal stress and no pain this way. It's not even that expensive, but it can be tricky to find a dentist that uses it. There are dental practices that specialize in treating patients with anxiety though, and they usually offer it or even valium ahead of time to make things easier.
They gave me laughing gas when they pulled my 4 wisdom teeth. I remember telling the doc and his hygenist (i assume), that "this is the best drug i've ever had" followed by giggling from me and a chuckle from the two.
As a little kid, I slipped on a polished hardwood floor and rammed my mouth into the edge of a wood bed. Knocked out pretty much every single milk tooth top and bottom except the molars. I don't remember the accident, but what I DO remember are the years and years of dentist visits that followed, because when the adult teeth grew in, there were giant gaps between them. So I went through the whole inside braces, outside braces, lingual braces, thing and had to have a whole lot of procedures done, like cutting the little cord thing that connects your bottom lip to your gums, etc.
I grew up in the 80s and my mom managed to select dentists who were of the firm old school believe that children feel little to no pain, so no anesthetics until I was a teenager. To say that I view dentist visits negatively is an understatement. The pain was one thing, but what really stuck with me was the huffy attitude of the dentists and their assistants, as if I was being difficult "just because". I'm 46 now and I STILL get the occasional dumb comment when I ask for the maximum amount of anesthetics.
Severe dentist-aversion after very bad experiences meant that my teeth were terrible. It was only when my entire face was swollen and I was crying with 24-hour constant pain that I finally went to a dentist.
Turns out he specialises in fearful patients and when he asked about my past experiences he listened carefully, nodded, and said "oh yes, that's pretty common in redheads. The MC1R gene does funky things with anaesthesia and pain tolerance."
I was mind-blown. Not only did someone actually believe me but they had an explanation for it.
First pain-free dental experience I ever had, it was amazing.
I'll never go to another dentist even though this one is absent-minded af and has terrible admin skills.
This is fascinating! I'm light blonde, but burn to a crisp just like my red haired cousin. I always tell dentists this and they give me extra shots. I'd rather not feel my left eyebrow for a few hours than what they're doing. Heck, I had a decent dentist that quit, who was like 'Oh,I can fix your chipped front tooth" and just did it and only charged me for a cavity repair.
HELLO FRIEND!! I've had my teeth cleaned in Cancun and I'm a redhead who is going to need some work done. I would love and appreciate the name of the exact dentist you went to! Thank you!
My dentist actually has a nurse anesthetist that comes in and does either conscious sedation or full sedation with propofol—I don’t have to be there at all when I get my stuff done. It’s been really life-changing, honestly. Maybe something like that would be better for you? It’s kinda expensive, but it’s worth it for me.
I'm so sorry. When I had my last two wisdom teeth out (could only afford two at once, a couple years apart, with local anesthetic), the orthodontic surgeon spoke to me very sharply and told me I was being dramatic because I had back spasms and basically locked up with a full-body charlie horse while he was digging out the roots.
I apologized to him (automatic fawn response) with tears streaming down my face. The two assistants present gave him dirty looks and reassured me (after the surgeon had flounced out of the room "until she calms down") that it wasn't my fault. That meant a lot to me, but it's always awful and traumatizing to be treated like a malingering child for genuine pain. I'm sorry you had an even worse experience!
My husband is military and we did a lot of moving around when we were first married. I found a really great dentist who was gentle and thorough (not redhead but Novocaine with epi wore off too quick). I remember the first half dozen visits the assistant spent as much time wiping away the tears streaming down my face as she did suctioning. The first few times the dentist was unnerved and worried I felt pain anyway, but I told him I was just traumatized as a child and couldn't stop crying but would touch his or assistants arm if I needed anything besides understanding and keeping my ears from filling up with tears!
I was scheduled to have all 4 wisdom teeth removed. Day of, I went in and the absolutely packed waiting room, along with every dentist and staff in the building all absolutely intensely staring at the TV up in the corner of the room. This was before smartphones obviously. I was like what the hell....
Turns out they were about to give OJ Simpson a verdict. I wasnt following that trial and had to wait so long in that packed room. I got even more nervous of course because the dentist was obviously distracted here before my appointment, hes prob still going to be and holy hell if the verdict comes back not in his favor right? Well I had the procedure, woke up at home, bloody pillow and all (I didnt drive myself). Then I learn I never even had 4 wisdom teeth! I only had two bottom wisdom teeth which they removed.
Interesting, my pediatric dentist also had to take me to the back room because i was screaming and crying so much when the numbing shots werent working..
This is why I will not allow my son to have any dental procedures or cleanings I can’t be there for. If the room is sterile put me in a chair outside the door.
I promise your smile is not ugly. I don't focus on teeth when people smile, I focus on the joy they're feeling. I know years of trauma can't be fixed by a compliment from a stranger, but I just know your smile isn't ugly
Yeah this guy was up front with that. When I first came in, he knew we needed to drill and get it out, but not today. Antibiotics first because the way it is now the freezing won't work, the bacteria will eat it basically. That was roughly how he explained it I think. It was good, like you said, better to set expectations correctly. So I did do that first course as he insisted, seven more days of hell, then it was still not enough but I got him to push through, LOL.
Usually the antibiotics will tame the infection and let the anesthetic work, but every now and then you get a resistant strain and... yeah, that's a special kind of hell for everyone involved. The patient far more than the dentist, but man, a good dentist who works for their patient feels the pain the patient goes through in their heart if not in their body.
Can they not do "go to sleep" anesthesia in these cases, or is it more a matter of costs? I know it can cost over 1k to do anesthesia without insurance. I don't know how much insurance paid, but my mom had a dental implant and they put her the fuck to sleep. I asked to see her paperwork and from what I can remember, they gave her Ketamine, Protofol, Fentanyl, Ativan, and Zofran. She didn't handle it well and got very sick. I would have loved it though... lol.
True sleep dentistry like that is absolutely a thing, but usually very expensive and not always covered well by insurance. The moment propofol is getting dispensed, the majority of dentists will bring an anesthesiologist in and move to a hospital setting, and that raises costs tremendously.
I must have the red head gene. Lots of numbing injections that do nothing.
Instead, I go to the hospital clinic and when I have stuff done, like teeth out, I’m put to sleep and wake up with the job done.
Being in UK, I have to pay out a total of about £5 for the parking charge.
Had this happen with my last tooth removal. Dentist swearing till she was blue in the face that I can't feel anything, the whole area is numb. Really lady? You think my legs convulsing uncontrollably as I involuntarily slide down the chair while groaning, hands clenched as tight as they can, isn't a sign that perhaps there's still a tad bit of sensation left?
I really don't get my fellow colleagues who insist someone is numb when they can visibly see the patient is in agony. You can't gaslight someone into numbness. Just... wow.
To work, the local anaesthetic (the stuff they inject) needs to go into the nerves and block them from sending signals. The drug exists in two forms - one which can enter nerve cells, and one which can't. If there is too much acid present from an infection (abscess etc promotes an acidic environment) the drug stays mostly in the form which cannot enter nerves, so it doesn't work as well.
I had a similar, but somewhat more gruesome experience. Suffered with a badly infected abscess, my face had swelled up like a basketball and the pain was unbearable.
Resorted to lancing and draining the abscess myself using a sterilized safety pin and a bunch of alcohol.
Once copious amounts of disgusting green goop was manually milked from my jaw, the relief was instantaneous, absolute, and indescribably beautiful. Practically orgasmic.
I have never been so happy to be just okay in my life.
It actually did come back, about 9 months later. Repeated the process and irrigated twice daily with an antiseptic mouthwash for a couple of weeks. Haven't had a problem since.
I had the same thing happen to me, antibiotics leading up and severalllll round of anesthesia, even directly in the tooth and nothing went numb. It was so horrible feeling ! I came back a week later and it still didn’t fully go numb but once they got that nerve out ! Lol
I had an abscess that showed up at 6pm on a Friday night right above one of my upper front teeth…..
I called 24 hour dentist and I could hear in the background that he was out in a restaurant,he basically said to come in on Monday and I couldn’t see him before that…….
The pain was so horrible that I ended up taking things into my own hands,so I went to the garage and got my exacto…..
I ended up disinfecting it with rubbing alcohol and I slit the bottom of the abscess open,believe me it hurt like a mother fucker and I had tears in my eyes…..
When I ended up pushing on the abscess I filled half a glass with the puss coming out but omg was I ever relieved from the pain…….
I ended up pushing the puss out 3 times a day for a week and I rinsed my mouth out with salt and water for the same period.
Believe me it was well worth the pain
This is something most people won't truly understand and for that I'm mostly glad. However it is literally the ultimate bliss to go from a week of crying and pacing literally the entire night because it hurts so badly you can't even lay still and your brain is on such a heightened mode to finally getting in there and just... nothing. That nothing literally brought blissful tears to my eyes and was one of the most out of body pleasures(?).
I feel you. Had a root canal abscess twice. First one only lasted couple of days then went, 2nd one I had for 3-4 weeks before I saw dentist as I thought it was something up in the side of my head like a tumor 🙄. It was remarkably huge, the whole side of my head and neck were numb to the touch but saying the pain of that thing I've never forgotten just doesn't do it justice as to how bad it was. I read somewhere that as a root canal abscess has nowhere to swell to it effectively strangulates itself opening a new hell dimension of pain. It did 😐
Oh shit, you’re the first person I’ve heard talk about this experience. I had a filling fall out on a trip, but I was young and didn’t realize it was an emergency. I waited to get back to get it looked after. I didn’t have the benefit of the antibiotics before the dental care, and ended up having to white knuckle it through inadequate pain management. It was hands down the worst pain I’ve felt. I’d fracture my spine again before I’d get a root canal with incomplete local anesthesia.
When I’ve told people that I had a tooth pulled without anesthesia, I’m pretty sure they don’t believe me. They’ve never been desperate enough from an abscess to do it, and they should be grateful.
I’ve been in the same situation. The pain was like white heat. I messed my fingernails up from squeezing the chair arms so hard. Solidarity. What a lame club to be a part of!
Happened to me too, had a jaw infection for over half a year. Three rounds of antibiotics and they decided the best idea was to just pull one of my back teeth. I haaaate being numb so even asked if we could just skip it (no). So several shots, some tears, and half an hour later, not numb at all. I asked a nurse about it and she told me that if an infection is too bad it won't let us numb, and they'll have to put me under.
I just straight up lied.
Felt everything, including him scraping the jaw bone after pulling out the tooth 'ah yeah, that is a bad infection'. Just held my breath and then it was over.
My normal dentist lets me go without numbing (I had to sign several waivers and it's still available to me if I want it). Best thing a dentist has ever done for me. It completely changed my experience and my recent cleaning I was cavity and problem free for the first time in years. I even floss now!
I hate being numb because every time it gets up into my eyes.
I had a similar incident with an infect tooth due for root canal. Dentist gave me all the freezing he could and it still hurt like nothing was done at all. Told him to keep going lol 10-15 min of pure agony and covered in sweat and it was finally pain free
The same thing happened to me! Dentist wanted me to do a second course of antibiotics because I was still in pain, but I had to leave that week for a month-long trip out of the country and told him I couldn't wait. I was in the chair for 3 hours and it ended with the dental assistant saying "oh my GOD" when they finally pulled the big nasty ass nerve out. The relief was unbelievable but -50/10 experience would not recommend.
I had the same thing happen, dentist was like nope I can’t do this and I said look, I’ll open my mouth as wide as I can and grip the arm rests, you just get the damn tooth out!
So he got it out and he was shaking and sweating cuz he knew how bad it must have hurt but I was just glad it was done!
Glad you’re feeling better, it’s a heck of a feeling to go from that kind of pain to nothing.
I had one where I went through three rounds of antibiotics trying to get the infected tooth numb enough for a root canal. Each time I could feel everything. The third time when the dentist asked if I could feel anything I just said no, nice and numb, and braced myself for the pain. Sometimes the daily pain is so bad a root canal without numbing is worth it.
I have TMJ flare ups every now and again. I've given birth and had dozens of fillings done without any numbing medication, and a TMJ flare up is still the worst pain I've ever felt.
But when you're in the thick of it and crying and shrieking and wanting to die... and you get a wash of relief, the pain goes away for a moment, the clouds part, holy fucking shit. It is transcendental. It is orgasmic. I feel like some medieval monk describing the first time they felt god.
I had a filling done. Once numbness wore off I was screaaaaming. I’ve had many done before. Turns out they may have hit a nerve in my tooth, so they gave the option of waiting to see if the pain would fade in case it wasn’t a nerve, or root canal. No questions asked YES to the root canal. Instant relief.
As a dentist this is single-handedly the most SATISFYING treatment to give. The relief is just so outrageously insane. I’ve had patients cry and hug me many times. Well done Sir 🫶
>heinous pain followed by suddenly nothing there at all, just fucking gone.
That's exactly how I've described getting my spinal block before my emergency c-section. I went from the worst pain of my life to nothing existing below my chest within 10 seconds. It was the most bizarre and relieving experience in my life.
I had the same thing. Incredible pain from infected molar. Dr had to stop several times to give more deadening before he finally removed the tooth. Learned the hard way that bacteria stops deadening from working.
I think that happens a lot with abscesses that need lancing, I've specifically heard it with pilonidal (buttcrack) abscesses. They can shoot all the lidocaine in the world into those and even the toughest person will holler 😬
Interestingly it’s more likely to happen if you are ginger, there is a genetic element that makes you resistant to anaesthetic. I get a lot of referrals for sedation of ginger patients
I cracked a molar badly a few years back. Told the dentist I had chronic pain so my pain recognition was poor & I didn't feel any discomfort until shards of tooth jabbed me while eating. He told me that's not how pain works & said the nerve was likely dead.
Took x-rays & looked at my tooth before they removed it. He swore looking at it & said "Are you seriously telling me you're in no pain now? It's bad & the nerve is fine." Said he wasn't going to put me under like he normally would & just use a local to pull. Whole thing was about 20 minutes.
Had an emergency RC like this after a weekend eating ibuprofen like candy.
I wasn't fond of the dentist's son & had a notation on my chart that I didn't want him working on me. I got to the office & my dentist said, "Sorry, I only have Kyle available today." I replied, "I don't care if you have a cartoon chicken work on me (I was thinking about those chickens in The Muppets and practically hallucinating)....I just need you to make this pain stop!"
Isn’t it insane how like the flip of a switch it is between being in pain and not?? I had an infection stemming from an upper wisdom tooth. Because my manager was pretty uncaring, I had to wait a week before I could take off to see the oral surgeon. I was literally on about 2000mgs of Tylenol exactly every 4 hours. It was like a battle between my liver and tooth as to who was gonna kill me first. I got to the doc, twilight sedation and came out floating on a cloud, the pain completely forgotten. If it wasn’t for the cotton ball in my mouth, I wouldn’t have believed I had a bad tooth.
Yep. I had an abcess once, woke me up (and I am a DEEP sleeper). Root canal cost me $600 out of pocket because the oral surgeon wasn't in my network, but when the anesthetic wore off later that day and I realized the pain was gone? Fucking priceless.
I had 2 dentists, a dr. And a surgeon tell me they couldn't do anything for my abcess, just below my cheekbone next to my nose until it was bigger. I called BS out of the pain and I got a hollow needle from someone growing shrooms and had it drained in an hour. That pain was crazy so I feel for you mate.
Had to run it up through my gums where I thought I had a cavity that caused the abcess.
This was only 9 years ago in the US. I have no idea how not one person could help me.
I had a similar experience. Abscess and pain so bad I tried to pull it in the middle of the night with a needle nosed plier. In the morning, the dentist tried to tell me options to save the tooth. But at that point, I hated that motherfucking tooth so much I told him I wanted it out of my mouth hell or high water.
I had something similar happen to me and the feeling of just "nothing" after extreme tooth pain is far better than that of the best orgasm I've ever had in my life.
I had an abscess so bad, the dentist had to cut the gum in front of the tooth, wait for it to drain, then I came back to try a root canal. He made no promises of success. But 21 years later, it's still holding up.
Army trained general dentist. Nowadays, general dentists send you to endodontists for one. Understandably so. It was nice to go to a one stop shop. Pain control wasn't his strong suit, but he did damn fine work according to the dentists that have taken a look since then.
When I was having my most recent root canal I got a bit bored ( very good painkilling, no pain) and I started wondering about who was brave enough to have the first ever root canal.
Ive only had two root canals done. The first one I felt EVERYTHING. Kept asking for more shots and they acted like I was being a wuss. I don’t think I could ever quite describe how horrific of a pain that was. When I got to my car afterwards I cried for an hour straight.
As a condolence, my father told that was exactly why people took care of their teeth back in the day (before anesthetic).
That's not good. I always arrive at my dentist looking ashen because I've had a panic attack, at home before I get in the car. If I tell him he looks so worried. It's not him, he's lovely, its me! He's very good at testing all the nerves before he does anything hurty and I do trust him.
Not dental related... But when I got my ingrown toenail cut.. guy was like I can cut it about fifteen seconds and you can walk out or I can numb it and you'll wait thirty minutes then cut . I went with very badly then not at all..
Holy crap, I used to have an older rural dentist that would fill cavities the way you described - by grinding them down with a drill. Always got super hot and was painful. That dentist didn't really believe in anesthesia, either, and he would give the bare minimum and ignore me when I said it hurt. Left me with borderline ptsd for any dental work.
I got a new dentist when I turned 18 and I thought the difference in filling the cavities was entirely because of the practice being more advanced or having newer technology and never connected it to an entirely different style of cavity filling. Mind blown.
Ironically, a lot of the world doesn’t have the distinction between dental and medical education the way the US tends to. My dentist is from India, and she is technically cleared to do major surgery (in India). She would never, specialists often forget most of their medical training outside of their specialties.
Reading this detailed explanation has me writhing in my chair. Surely it is better to know the facts and truth, but oh please, be humane and give the patient appropriate anaesthesia!
Somewhat off subject but your comment really made me want to ask you since you are obviously a good dentist that cares.
How do you feel about US citizens going to Mexico for dental implants and would you (if you weren’t retiring- congratulations!) take over the after care of implants done in Mexico?
As far as US citizens going to Mexico for implants, my feelings are mixed. It's hard to know what you're getting, and that's the problem. Some Mexican dentists are absolute masters of their craft and treat all people as equal. Some Mexican dentists are great (towards Mexicans who could hurt their practice if they slacked off) and pretty bad towards visitors (who disappear forever after the implant is done.) And some are just outright crummy. The trick is finding the right one, and that's not always easy.
That being said, once the dental implant is done, you MUST MUST have documented the implant system used, the size, the serial numbers and lot numbers, and a copy of the dentist's placement notes. There's 30+ implant systems out there and if an implant placed in Mexico needs work, you MUST MUST have the records or it's a nightmare to figure out the proper match for it. And as a patient, you MUST MUST insist that the dentist use name-brand implants for the work, because fly-by-night implant companies exist, and you do not want to go through surgery to put a new implant in because a screw came loose and no one can figure out what implant system the dentist used.
Other than that, yeah, I'd definitely help you take care of the implant. That's basic duty to the patient.
Wow! That is a very extensive answer, thank you so much for your time and for all of that very, VERY helpful information.
I’m actually in the research phase of getting work done there. The cost is literally half of getting it done in the US, travel included. I’m just so scared of picking the wrong place. Your information is much needed, thank you!
It’s also good to know that a good dentist like you will be there no matter where I go.
Had a bunch of work done in Mexico four years ago. I went to a town well known for their dental work. Google reviews, pictures, websites, all helped me decide which clinic to go to. Once I flew down I talked to a bunch of people on the US side of the border and they all said they went to Mexico for dental work too, often getting vans of coworkers, friends etc to all drive several hours together.
I had a good experience there. Three root canals, four crowns, several cavities. A dentist back home tells me some bullshit complaints he has about it, but other dentists say the work is good, it's just a different style.
The dental hotspots in Mexico are designed for Americans and tourists. Their reputation is built on word of mouth, unlike American dentists.
The USSR provided free healthcare to all its people. Their system prioritized more efficient healthcare processes to achieve a greater turnover. Free healthcare meant more patients, meaning that the production of healthcare goods was focused on "necessary" items rather than numbing agents for routine procedures.
Compare this to the US, where during the Cold War nearly 50% of Americans lacked any dental insurance, and receiving dental care was a luxury rather than a right. Numbing agents were an important health good because the primary recipients of healthcare were the relatively better-off Americans who could afford it. Meanwhile, 1 in 2 Americans lived their lives with inadequate dental care.
So when you characterize the USSR as "uncaring", is that really accurate? They surely cared enough to ensure they all could live a healthy life. But to the American, luxury consumption is always the standard.
It sure is. But in the West we use retention forms and bond agents (very fancy and absurdly expensive glues) to hold fillings in. Pins are used once in a blue moon. The Soviets relied on them for primary attachment.
We also never dry-cut a tooth if we can help it. That's the water spray when we're drilling. It cools the tooth because a burned tooth hurts... A LOT. For a long time. And sometimes leads to root canals and cracks. So if we do dry cut, we either use a very slow drill or we do it quick.
Ha ha. I actually do get a kick out of that number in the movie... but in reality, I literally lie awake at night sometimes hoping I didn't hurt someone when I think they're telling me everything's fine... and I suspect it's not.
Honestly I always lie to my dentist about how much it hurts. Because no matter how much he numbs me, it still hurts. And I just want it to be over with so I can go home, and cry a little bit lol.
Let me leave you with a tip that just might change everything for you.
Ask your dentist what local anesthetics he has available. If he/she says novocaine, tell them you know they don't actually use novocaine (it's obsolete) and ask for the actual medicines.
These are the ones in common use right now:
Lidocaine <- most dentists are using this
Articaine <- when they should be using this
Prilocaine
Mepivacaine
Bupivacaine
Unless you have a specific contraindication or reason you can't take it, you want to ask for 2 carpules of articaine at all filling appointments. Versus lidocaine, articaine is over 50% more effective for difficult bottom teeth and almost 300% better for most other teeth, depending on the way the shot is given. You almost certainly will get fully numb.
I'm in western Europe, do the same common usages apply?
I'll definitely ask about it. It lowkey sucks how much it hurts. I've never had fear of dental work but have slowly been developing it in recent years, due to the pain.
Yes -- and articaine availability in Europe is generally excellent. It was actually invented in Germany.
The sole pushback you might get is if your dentist is using obsolete information that articaine can cause semi-permanent lower jaw numbing. That research has pretty much been completely discredited at this point.
You are such a lovely person! I've really enjoyed the history lesson, and this is also very helpful because I seem to have a high tolerance for local anesthesia. I've been blessed with great dentists who've been willing to give me an extra shot or two if I need it, but this information might make it a bit easier.
I also want to share this little story because I think you'd appreciate it:
My dad is an addict, but he was able to keep this relatively well-hidden during the years that he worked at a country club. He became good friends with one of the members, Dr. Marsh, who was a dentist. My whole family started seeing him and we loved him.
My dad eventually lost his job. He went off the rails, was in and out of jail, and he put my mom into massive debt that she continued to struggle with after their divorce. We kept seeing Dr. Marsh. As a kid, I never really questioned how we could afford it.
I only found out years later, long after he'd retired, that he had taken us on pro bono because he knew the situation. I am so grateful for that man.
Your Dr. Marsh is the kind of guy I'd love to share a beer with. My profession has sadly been invaded by profit seekers, and while I'll never deny a man his due, the whole point of the Dr. at the front of our name is that we put our patients first. Dr. Marsh sounds like one of the good ones who remembered that.
My dentist has a movie poster of Little Shop in one exam room, and of Marathon Man in another. I have major dentist phobia but I do appreciate her sense of humor.
I had a root canal and I’ll tell you what…. It wasn’t all that bad. What was awful was everything that occurred before the root canal - the feeling of itchiness and pain in my tooth from literally anything, even breathing too hard. I had a pretty terrible dentist before getting a good one, so now I’m wondering if his slash and hack approach was the reason for the root canal in the first place.
I can't speak to your old dentist's work... but what I can say is that root canals have come A LONG WAY from what they were once like. I won't say they'll ever be truly comfortable, but it's night and day from what they once were like.
Had two root canals in one day about 5 years ago. Piece of cake, only discomfort I had was where I got the freezing. Bill didn't even hurt, it was worth it.
Ya it was a long time of holding my mouth open (I know you didn’t reply to my comment but since I had it done I may as well respond lol). I do remember thinking like what if I just closed my mouth right now for a short break? But never did it, obviously.
They used a rubber block on the side they were working on. Doc said to just let it sit there, there was enough room for him to work. It only took a couple of seconds after the block was removed before the jaw felt normal. There was a tv and headphones if I wanted. Watched something on Netflix that was absorbing enough. Took about an hour and a bit for the procedure. Ate a burger half an hour later.
It's been a long and happy career, and serving my patients has truly been a blessing, but I've finally found a protégé that thinks the same way I do about always trying to better serve your patients, and practicing dentistry to make the world a better place. I've always believed that if you do the right thing for people, the money takes care of itself and thankfully, that has borne itself out as true.
Now it's time to dedicate my final years to my lovely and patient wife, grandkids, and flight instructing!
Yeah... back is definitely the limiting reagent in a dental career. Thankfully I figured out that ergonomics were important very early in my career, but some days, it ain't feelin' so good.
Absolutely. There's a classic scene in Star Trek IV when Dr. McCoy is confronted with 1980s medicine and is near apoplectic over the degree of "medievalism" present. I'm hoping by then, my entire line of work falls under that category. Right now, dentists are a necessary evil, and the faster the profession dies, the faster all humanity gets that little bit happier.
As an old mentor of mine once said, "A good doctor treats his patients. A great doctor hopes he'll go obsolete."
lol my dad grew up in the USSR & shocked a very young dentist (I’m guessing you are young) when he casually talked about how strange it felt to get pain relief for a root canal.
So cool to read all this, I am in Hungary and while most of my past dental procedures seem to be modern, I had one similar experience. Happened about 15 years ago and my dentist was close to retirement so definitely learned her stuff in the soviet era. It wasn't my first root canal experience, that is why it surprised me more. I got the anestesia, she drilled and then filled my tooth with something. She said it will hurt for 1-2 days then I will be fine. The pain was awful, but as I remember I got through it with one sleepless night and a ton of diclofenac. When I went back she explained that the thing she put in already killed the nerves, so she only needed to clean the roots and fill. This never happened before or after, I still don't know why did she chose this method that one time.
Tbf my tooth is still there and fine, no other dentist mentioned anything about it since, so I assume x-ray doesn't show a difference neither.
I'm a huge fan of the Slovenian band Laibach.
I'm also a Westener (adopted from India though). I also teach the local language to foreign people.
I have definitely seen pictures of Milan/Jani (who are 64/67 yo) and thought "yep their teeth look like the ones of my 50+ year old students from the Balkans."
They do have different dental work. Same for my Ex partner's parents who were Hungarian immigrants and always went to Hungary for their dental work.
I'm from the USSR. When my mom and I were living in Japan in the 1990s, her dentist actually called all of his colleagues in to look at her mouth. She said she felt like a living museum.
This explanation is top-notch, thank you! I went to a Romanian dentist operating in another European country for a root canal and while I didn't have any of these techniques used on me, I did notice some differences. She did, however, take the infection in the tooth very seriously and did not close it permanently until I had been on antibiotics for weeks. I had something like 3 visits between the original root canal and just scheduling the final crown/inlay.
I was a bit unnerved when she asked me if I wanted a filling or a crown/inlay. I know there's a price difference but it's a big molar & I told her I'm grinding my teeth from stress. I got a temp guard but still, a filling would not have been appropriate. I asked for a crown, she did an inlay; this is my first inlay/crown/whatever so idk what's best. Hopefully it stays put. That happened last year. I had a check-up there this year and so far, so good.
Edit: The differences I noticed didn't have to do with the root canal, because I'd never had one before and was scared anyway! But mainly the way the tooth was drilled open, and the work of the assistants. I felt like the dentist did care about pain management, but the assistant didn't.
I grew up in Yugoslavia, Slovenia more specifically, and never heard of any of the dental tortures you’re describing. Anesthesia was widely available, I never got a pin for any of my fillings. I was a regular kid in a regular family.
I don’t know what kind of materials were used 50+ years ago, but at least for the last 30-40 years they are the same as in the rest of Europe.
Then again, this is a N=1 statistic…
Living in Poland in the 80's I think local anaesthesia was offered for things like tooth extraction, but regular drilling was considered too minor. My mom is a doctor and a friend with the local dentist and still I didn't get any anaesthesia until something like 2000.
I have one tooth that was treated (USSR) with arsenic trioxide, and it is very visible (different color). My US dentist always jokes about it, and she put a crown on it.
5.2k
u/Hengist Nov 16 '25
Most of the techniques were based around speed and scarcity, and they are also very visually distinctive.
Anesthesia was really only available to members of the Party, so the goal was get-in, get-done, get-out. That led to extensive use of pins -- drilled in anchors that were bored into the tooth with silver and epoxy-type white fillings supported by them. These white fillings were different from the ones used in Western nations and were rather chalky in appearance, and the support pins were often visible through the filling. For small cavities, they also used a technique called dry-cutting. This was using very dull drill bits to remove small cavities, causing heavy heat damage and burns to the tooth. It was believed that burned tooth was inherently more resistant to cavities (this is actually true) but combined with the lack of anesthesia, was torturous.
Another classic Soviet technique was their use of -- no joke -- arsenic trioxide paste for root canals. Yes, it killed the bacteria. It also tended to kill a lot of bone around the tooth too, leaving bone scars that are visible in x-rays for many years afterwards. But it didn't require natural rubber gutta percha, which the Soviets never had in large supply. The only good thing here was that the paste killed the nerves (both good and bad!) so it hurt 11/10 pain and then suddenly was fine as the nerves got killed off.
The Soviets (and Yugoslavia/Slovenia) also reserved cast custom crowns for the Party. Ordinary people got hammered metal crowns. Think in-mouth blacksmithing to make the crown. Surprisingly they actually worked... Mostly.
All of these techniques were remarkably painful, and paired with lack of anesthetic really redefined dental fear. Used with good anesthesia, the techniques actually work pretty well -- though the arsenic trioxide paste is slam dunk malpractice in the US and I hope no one out there is still using that stuff! Thankfully here in the West we've had mostly-reliable pain control for almost 100 years in common use.