Does getting a Novocaine Shot at the dentist hurt?… by Anonymo
I need you to provide this information as well: did they numb it with gel before hand for you, or not? Did it still hurt, or not?
Best Answer:
I have been on both sides of the injection plenty of times, and I can say that the answer is entirely subjective.
I've had big strong linebacker looking guys crying like babies during injections. I have had had 4 year old girls who barely notice. So a lot of it depends on your threshold for pain or discomfort. If you're one of those people who went running to your mom every time you got the slightest knee scrape up 'til you were 17, then you'll think it hurts. 
Here's some helpful tips. Don't tense up. The more tense you are, the more the anticipation will actually UPREGULATE the pain receptors in your brain. w/ little kids if they don't EXPECT to feel pain, they honestly don't.
Second, yes, gel is helpful. it numbs the tissue so you don't feel as much of the initial “prick” of the needle. howEVER, most of the discomfort is not the pointiness of the injection, but the CHEMICAL aspect. That is, the anesthetic itself is acidic compared to your bloodstream. the “burning” pinch somem people associate w/ injection is the body having a tougher time accepting this new solution.
The trick to dealing with that is SLOW injections. your dentist should go very slowly…it shoudl take at least 30 seconds…the slower the better. you may think the way the nurse does a shot (”wham, bam, thank you ma'am!”) is better at the reg. doc's office, but in this case it isn't.
some dentists (like me) put just sa little TINY bit of anesthetic on board to just get it a little numb. THen we wait 10 seconds and go from there. that helps too.
Hope this helps you! Don't worry too much!
(oh, and here's something no one cares about but i'll say it anyway. “novacaine” is obsolete. we use lidocaine or septocaine nowadays. less allergies. but people keep calling it novacaine the way some people call every cola beverage “Coke” even if it's Pepsi or Dr. Pepper or even 7-Up!)
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