Some of the needles nowadays border on acupuncture slimness, or that's how they feel, very unobtrusive. Our regular dentist has a trick too: pinches your lip a bit while inserting the needle, distraction technique. Even though I understand what she's up to, it still works: don't feel a thing. Far cry from when I was a kid: they didn't use any freezing, and I really hated the old-school drills, with the pulleys and spring-wire cables, no fun.
LOL. Haven't had the problem recently with no gum shots to report on. But we don't usually have a pre-numbing wipes unless the patient is extremely squeamish. Costs in the UK can vary considerably in the private dental sector and insurance cost from middle-age is higher than my income can justify, so treatments will generally be tailored to shave costs. The NHS central service is cheaper but only offers basic services and emergency treatment, so bridges and implants are off the menu there! Strange, when you consider maxillofacial surgery is free.
I haven't looked at the latest needles, still avert my gaze. In the latest work, in addition to a little pinch, she also tried to get me to count backwards from 10. I didn't do it myself, but just listened to her do the counting, and even that was sufficient distraction.
Oh I never actually look at them, and it seems like doctors always keep them tactfully "in the wings" till the deed. I just get this sense they're very slim, hardly feel them.
Too late. Absent a higher cost 'special services' provider, that is over. A couple years ago during a molar crown replacement requiring significant leverage and muscle work, I realized that the side of my face was very firmly embedded in a warm breast. Not my action, but that of the dentist. It was rather calming. For other molar work, post-Harvey Weinstein, no such contact at all.
fortunately, when they do come at you with a really big needle, they have a way of anesthetizing the area before proceeding. i watched the doc insert the needle into my neck on a computer screen and as he fished around for the nerve bundle that runs down the shoulder. didn't feel much of anything.
I really think they should come up with some head clamp, hold you steady when they're doing extractions. Otherwise you can get neck strain, trying to hold still, cooperate.
I remember hearing about designing needles after mosquitoes mouth parts for less pain. Whether they worked or not you wouldn't want to see some of those prototypes; some had some wicked looking serrations. Mosquito needle helps take sting out of injections | New Scientist Hospitals are No Longer Scary: Injections that Do Not Hurt - Hi-tech - Kids Web Japan - Web Japan There are a couple of self numbing needles in development too. New Needles Could Make Shots Painless Also interesting. Mother Nature as Engineer: 9 Design Tricks Borrowed From Biology | WIRED
Reminds me of a sinus OP many years ago. They anaesthetised each nostril with 3 yards of soaked name thrust in with forceps. We were laid out flat on a hard gurney so you couldn't pull your head back further. Boy, did your eyes water!!!
May have said this before in another thread. I think wide needles (needed for blood cells) are much better beveled now than they were circa 1980 when I started donating. Maybe lasers or CNC or something. Thin-gauge always seemed bearable. Biopsy needles - no raised to the power of a lot.
I was OK with acupuncture needles, but procedure was ineffective. It severely psyched me out to think about how deep they were going though. In addition, placement: You are trying to fix my left ear and sticking a needle in between two right toes??? Just because there is nothing any further away, right?
We had a dog who was so averse to needles that he yelped before the vet actually gave him the shot. He didn't notice when it actually happened 5 seconds later...
Canadians use or are aware of some of the UK terms too. The US measurement system is just an inconvenience to them. They either use the Imperial or Metric systems in Canada.
They most certainly should be. Their divorce was much later and far more amicable than was ours. They've had less time and reason to customize their version of the language.