Why does a root canal anesthesia not kick in and it hurts like a mfkr?!
Question:
Why does a root canal anesthesia not kick in and it hurts like a mfkr?
serious answers only, Dentists, experts please, the pain was horrible with all that painful drilling!
Answers:
If you had infection around the tooth, the area is acidotic (pH is LOW, not high) and that prevents the local anesthetic (numbing medicine) from getting into the nerve. It has to do with the Henderson-Hasselbach equation http://www.biology.arizona.edu/biochemis...
and the amount of ionized vs. non-ionized drug.
You should have spoken up! I would have screamed (and have done under a similar situation)
Sometimes dentists don't wait long enough for the drug to kick in. It may take 15-20 minutes for you to get numb enough to work on.
It is also possible that the drug was placed in the wrong area. That situation can usually be overcome by using more local. The rate of failed blocks decreases with increasing volumes of anesthetic. That assures that the correct nerve will be numb, but may also numb half your face. (I've had a numb nose after dental work, but at least the tooth didn't hurt.)
If you need dental work in the future, tell your dentist that you were hard to get numb. He/she might be inclined to use a little more medicine and wait for it to work.