The everyday blog of Richard Bartle.
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8:25am on Tuesday, 8th July, 2025:
Anecdote
I went to the dentist yesterday to have some work done on a tooth that will need a crown. It only needs a crown so that I can get an implant next to it: it was at an angle, and apparently they don't make molar implants the shape of a Lego roof tile.
The dentist (who's really good — he trains other dentists) gave me an injection and told me my lip would start going numb, which it did. That is, it started to go numb, but didn't actually go numb.
The dentist started drilling, but in one particular place I could feel it. It rather hurt.
He gave me some more numbing agent, waited a couple of minutes, and carried on. My lower lip was numbish where he said it would be numb, but when he drilled the part of the tooth where it had previously hurt, it still hurt.
The dentist gave me another dose of whatever it is in the needle, and waited another minute or so, then he continued. My lower lip was still not entirely numb, and when he reached the bit that hurt, well, I could still feel it but the pain was bearable. He did whatever it was he needed to do and carried on. There was no more pain thereafter.
However, while he was working with his drill, all three jabs kicked in at once and my lower lip on the right-hand side turned to rubber. My tongue was numb at the same side, and everywhere on my cheek from my chin to my cheekbone was also numb. It took four hours before it all came back, and when it did my jaw muscle where the jabs had gone in was so stiff I could barely open my mouth enough to shovel food in. It's still a bit stiff this morning.
That's not the weird thing, though. That was when my cheek was completely numb and started to itch. I don't know how something I couldn't feel could itch, but it did. Scratching it did nothing, and was a bizarre experience in itself because I could feel where I was scratching with my finger but not with what was being scratched. As a result, I got a glimpse of how people with phantom limb syndrome must feel; they have my complete sympathy.
Anyway, the exercise was a success and I'll be getting my implant and new crown at the end of next week.
I rather hope they fit, as I'll be going to my elder daughter's wedding the week after, and don't want to be unable to eat cake.
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Copyright © 2025 Richard Bartle (richard@mud.co.uk).