Hi!
OK new here so a bit of history.
Um its been 8 years since I last saw a dentist!
Why? You ask?
Because the last dentist I went to gave me lock jaw!
I kid you not.
Another reason is, I am one of those really odd people who don't respond well to novacane. It just doesn't work on me, doesn't numb my mouth the way its supposed to so I almost always end up with some idiot dentist trying to drill when I'm still feeling everything! And let me tell you that hurts! The last dentist I went to tried that and when I screamed proceeded to shoot 5 vials of mega strength novacane directly into the major nerve of my face beside my jaw. Hence the lock jaw.

Meanwhile 16 years ago I had a rootcanal done and that tooth is now turned black and I do believe it is beginning to decay along the gum line. Needs to come out I'd say! BUT! We circle around to the whole novacane thing. Is there a way to get a tooth pulled without knocking me out like when I had my wisdom teeth out, or without using novacane? Maybe some sort of neural block or something?
Does anyone know?
Thanks!

The best thing to do is to ask your friends and co workers about their dentists and the experiences they have had with freezing.

If you are not getting the numbing effect you are supposed to with local anaesthetic (freezing) there could be an anatomical reason with the position of the nerve in your jaw. You could be in that 1% of people with this problem.

The other reason could be that the dentist isn't giving you enough time to numb. I've had clients who would come in a half hour before their appointment for the freezing. Some had to get up and walk around for the freezing to actually take effect.

You want to let whatever dentist you see about your history of having trouble with the freezing. Hopefully he/she will listen and know what to do to make things comfortable for you during AND after your treatment.

Good luck

Thanks for responding Flossie haha cute name by the way! Dental floss - flossie I love it!
If I can avoid novacane completely id much rather do that! I do have a wonky positioning to my facial nerves. When I had my wisdom teeth out, I was fortunate to have the head of facial surgury do it and he noticed that the nerves along my jaw were actually wrapped around one of my impacted teeth. He was horribly afraid he was going to have to cut the nerve to get the tooth out but he was able to remove it without doing so. No wonder he was the head of facial surgury LOL!
I notice your from canada, you're not by chance from halifax area are you<G>. I bet you never gave a patient lock jaw!
Humph!

Depending on what needs doing, it's possible to get a small filling or similar procedure with no injection at all. I've had a few fillings where we just didn't bother with numbing the mouth, and as long as the work is not too close to the nerve, it's fine.

And they can use some various gases to relax you, Done ( at least here) when there is a large amount to be done in one visit