My past experience told me that I had no need of it. And at $95 minimum, I don't plan on begging for it upfront in the future. But it's good to know that, in a pinch, it does the trick.

I am not a fearful person, but I fear dentistry to almost an irrational extent. Hats off to your courage, GD, because I get freaked out just talking about going to the dentist.

I have a great fear of dental work as well. I've had numerous filling, 4 wisdon teeth extraced, and another 13 teeth yanked, plus 9 years of braces, My mouth thinks it is DONE!

I really have to do a LOT of meditation and other mental "tricks" to get me there in the first place. It must work to a certain extent because I've never had to use THE GAS.....bumbumbum.

Pfft, I could've guessed that from the first quote! (but it's about time you finally admitted it)

That sucks, I hope you're feeling better.

It's hard to tell but I've had a lot of dental work. You name it I've probably had it, fixed it or lost it. Dental bridge at 21, anyone? A mix of bad dental genes, a lack of floss and gum upkeep and a major sweet tooth growing up has led to a major teeth overhaul. My dentist is great though, he doesn't charge me for nitrous and I get it EVERYTIME. Filling...yep, root canal...you better believe it, just for the heck of it during a cleaning...sometimes. ;) I think that because the cost of my work will probably put his daughter thru college he gives me a break. It's all worth it. I'd rather fix them now than not have them at all.

As for the wisdom teeth... I'd think about having them put you out.

NA ~ 9 years of braces? My hat's off to you! :snap:

Yeah, and my teeth STILL aren't straight!

I was asleep while my wisdom teeth were taken out. As soon as it was finished, I was woken up and wheeled out of the place. OK, so I'm using "woken up" extremely loosely.

GD, I've had the same problem with novicane not working. It's happened twice, and the last time it happened (a couple years ago), it was a bottom tooth on the left side (spooooky). I could feel the novicane going in, and not going anywhere near the tooth the dentist was working on. Unlike you, I just decided to pretend like the second or third or whatever shot of novicane worked. I guess my desire to go home was stronger than my desire to have no pain.

Oh, there's no doubt I'm going out for the wisdom teeth. They're in there gooood. Actually, the dentist said that they'll put me out not so much for the pain, but because they are going to have to crack at least one of the teeth, and the sound of that, as it travels directly through your jaw to your ear drum, is apparantly horrifying.

MF, for future reference, going home after gas isn't a problem. NOS effects are extremely short lasting. You stay conscious, just veeery relaxed, and once the gas is turned off and they flush your lungs with pure O2, you're back to normal in a matter of a couple minutes.

I had a total of 5 years of braces, with 2 of those years in a headgear. I had them on for 2 years, when the first bunch of permanent teeth came in. They came off for a year, and then back on for another 3 once the rest were in. Seems to have done the trick, mine are still satisfyingly straight.

I was put out for my wisdom teeth as well, but only had the bottom two pulled. Apparently they were both stradling nerve. Tricky. Signing the little waiver about probable permanent loss of feeling wasn't fun either.

Four years of braces for me. All at once. I never got a retainer when the came off. More of a "thanks, here's the door, you don't need to come back". They've pretty much stayed put. :D

At the time, I hadn't even thought about gas, nor was it offered to me. But after a couple times of putting the novicane in what seemed to be clearly the WRONG place, I just figured it would be less trouble to feel the drill. I hate conflict, and I'm impatient. It was my third dentist visit in less than a month (and the last cavity I was having filled at the time). I just wanted to go home, and the faster they drilled, the faster they could fill it up, and that meant the faster I could go home. :rolleyes:

Drill pain is horrible, but the good thing about it is that as soon as the drill's off, the pain goes away.

I once knew someone who claimed she always asked NOT to have any novicane. That's strange.