I really don’t like novocaine or any anesthetic – makes me feel like I’ve been systemically poisoned. So I just don’t do it for any dental work. To me, it doesn’t hurt that much anyway – I’ve always had a high pain threshold, and have just gotten over the whine of the drill. I sort of go into a meditative state, I think.
A tooth had needed to be pulled for a while – I tried to talk it into falling out (did that with one years ago) – didn’t work. A new dentist came into the practice I use, who does extractions. I knew instantly this would be it. And I promised the tooth I would plant it in the garden, so it could feed the earth its essence.
The dentist didn’t flinch when he saw ‘no anesthetic’ on my record – just asked if I wanted the extraction the same way. I said yes, checking my body’s tense/relaxed ratio to see if that decision was still on target. Indeed it was.
On the appointed day, I brought along my Rescue Remedy spray – a Bach flower remedy that provides natual stress relief. Two little spritzes under the tongue – every few minutes – as I waited.
He started to work – and each time it started to hurt, he stopped at the right instant. It all took less than 5 minutes. More Rescue Remedy when it was over. Turns out the dentist had never done an extraction with an unanesthetized patient – so it was an interesting day for all concerned!
And a day in which I could recover from the extraction, but didn’t need to recover from the anesthetic. : >