So I believe last time I posted about getting my teeth cleaned it'd been

[conuly]

mumbleteymumblevague years since my last cleaning, and it was so bad my dentist was working in sections, after numbing my gums a prodigious amount. (Judging from his comments it does seem like I might need more numbing than other people. I'm putting it on my list of weird things to sooner or later ask a doctor about.)

I'm pleased to report that today I was able to get a normal teeth cleaning, no numbing and all my teeth were done at once, hurrah.

Also, we scheduled everybody's appointment for the same day, so it was only our family in the waiting room, so go me.

Comments

[gatheringrivers]

Fun trivia: Late best friend, being Native American, also needed more anesthesia than normal.

I think that's typical for asian and native american folks, but I don't know which other groups that tends to apply to.

I don't go very often (the good dentist retired rather a long time ago, and after the last bad experience with an extraction, to say I'm hesitant is....an understatment) so I haven't worked out whether it's "dentist can't aim right" or "I'm numb-resistant."

Possibly nerves aren't always in the exact same place from person to person. :)

[conuly]

I think that's typical for asian and native american folks, but I don't know which other groups that tends to apply to.

In my case, I wonder if it's part of a constellation of symptoms up and down my family that might all be connected. I've posted about it before, but possibly under lock. My sister, bless her, thinks I'm crazy - but what I'm thinking of would be some form of hypermobility slash connective disorder, and I already know that's highly comorbid with autism, that's how I first heard about it in the first place.

But I don't know if we/I have that, or if we do, if it's not actually subclinical. The literal hypermobility almost certainly is - for sure, all I've ever gotten out of it are twisted ankles and random joint pain. I can't even do any cool party tricks.

[fred_mouse]

There is definitely a cluster of things that go with hypermobility, and one of these is needing different amounts of drugs. Even if you are subclinical on that, if the connective tissue whatever is there, you might have that expressed more. I certainly have that -- need more injections for dental work as a general thing, but can also treat migraine with paracetamol (which also has to do with the kind of migraine I get)

[readerjane]

Hoorah!

I always need extra numbing too. Not for cleanings, but for fillings.

[conuly]

Oh, fun. I don't think I've ever had a filling - despite my subpar care of my teeth, they're troopers.

[librarygeek]

I need some level of numbing even for a normal cleaning, and my dentist has some kind of gel that works better on my gums for desensitization. I get the gel applied like a polish on my gums and that works pretty well, then cleaning.

More extensive work called for IV sedation last time.

I'm autistic with sensory processing disorder, and Ashkenazi Jewish descent.

[conuly]

I'm autistic with sensory processing disorder, and Ashkenazi Jewish descent.

Ditto on the first. I'm wondering if I should explain to him that it does no good to say "It doesn't hurt, it's just pressure" (or "just polishing") because it's pressure/noise/taste that bothers, not the physical pain.

(Or, today, the smell. I wasn't expecting him to pop up with the smell of rubbing alcohol and ended up three feet lower in my chair. I *did* explain that one to him, though.)

[rhoda_rants]

Ugh, I need to do that too. I have been getting reminders from my dentist in my email for months.

[conuly]

Good luck.

[adafrog]

Go you!

[conuly]

:D

(Put teeth in there.)

[dewline]

So not looking forward to my next cleaning, should it ever be finally scheduled...

[conuly]

The sooner you get it over with, right?

[wpadmirer]

Cool! Yeah, waiting years is a bad thing to do. I'm glad you're all better now.

[conuly]

Still gotta get these wisdom teeth extracted, and one day I really want to get the bottom teeth straightened.

[mtbc]

Oh goodness, I hate the cleanings, but in the UK I've never been offered any anesthesia for them, will I when I move back to the US? I hope so, for me they're by far the worst part of the visit. I've heard they go more easily, the more often one visits. I'm overdue for a regular checkup but I've yet to hear from the office, if checkups are even happening right now I bet they have backlog. I've had cleanings that made my teeth ache for days afterward, ugh. It doesn't hurt, it's just pressure?!? For me, it's pain. Fillings go fine, once I get them to numb me up plenty, not usually any lingering issue after it wears off again.

[conuly]

My teeth were really very long overdue for a cleaning. In fact, they'd been overdue for several years. That's why I got the shots to numb the gums. I think if you want them for more usual cleaning you have to ask.