· 1 min read
Does it hurt? An honest answer
The most common question in the practice, answered treatment by treatment without the reassurance voice.
Dental Health
People ask this in the waiting room, quietly, usually after saying they are not nervous.
The honest ranking
A check-up and a clean: no. A filling: the anaesthetic injection stings for a few seconds, then nothing. A crown prep: the same, over a longer appointment. An extraction: pressure, not pain, and the pressure is strange rather than sore. An implant placement: less than people expect, more soreness the following day than during.
What actually helps
Telling us. A stop signal agreed before we start — a raised left hand — changes the experience more than any sedation, because the dread is mostly about not being able to stop.
The part nobody mentions
Anaesthetic wears off unevenly and the numbness is often more unpleasant than the treatment. Do not book anything social for the two hours afterwards.