Article Tags: integrative medicine clinic | mind-body
DENTAL PAIN OR MENTAL PAIN?
After a recent dental visit, I went to meet with a friend and I told him I just had lunch with my dentist on the deck of a nice restaurant with a view of San Francisco Bay. “Lunch with your dentist!” he said surprised, “I imagine that must have been before your treatment not afterwards, or the food would be falling out of your mouth?”
“No, after my treatment,” I replied, “In fact, my dentist just did two fillings and a crown. I don’t get injections for dental work and I haven’t for about fifty years, so my face wasn’t numb.”
It’s true, I haven’t taken injections, or other painkillers like nitrous oxide, during dental work since the 1970s and our conversation got me thinking about different ways to handle pain and that it might be an interesting subject to explore.
Why would I even think about avoiding numbing injections? What was my motivation? It wasn’t even that I didn’t like needles or shots; I liked less the numb feeling and being uncomfortable for hours after dental work. Also, in my natural lifestyle approach, I didn’t want any pharmaceutical drugs put into my body unless absolutely necessary. I still practice that approach many decades later.
So, briefly, here’s how I approach injection/drug-free dentistry. To begin with, I visualize any drilling, noise and vibration, as energy moving through the tooth and my whole body; I don’t resist and tighten. I let it go. The next challenge, or step, is how to apply this same approach to any nerve stimulation and perceived “pain.” I use a similar technique—I repeat and say to myself, “This is energy passing through my nerve,” I don’t call it “pain” and I don’t resist. “It’s just a moment,” I tell myself and it passes almost as quickly as I can identify it. Sound crazy? I don’t think so.
How is this any different than taking a natural approach to dealing with a headache for example? It’s easy to just think, “I have a headache and what can I take to make it go away?” That’s a typical Western Medicine approach. I have taught and lived a more integrative and natural approach. “Why do I have this headache? Am I stressed? Dehydrated? Is my neck out of alignment? Is it intestinal toxicity from bad food or drink?” Ideally, for any condition, it’s a higher level of medicine to figure out and address the underlying cause. This is one of the keys to my NEW Medicine approach, standing for the integration of Natural, Eastern and Western medicine systems.
Update: A few days ago had a root canal done with an expert dentist. I was willing to try it without anesthetic, but he encouraged me to do a low dose “caine” without epinephrine. I wanted to check that out and not hold onto old patterns. The procedure went well and I still identified deeper feeling that many might call pain, but I just identified it as pressure. Recovery was quick and easy with very little lasting numbing effects.
My long-time dentist and good friend, Dr. Lila Skelley, who just retired, recently explained the dentist’s point of view and their concerns that without pain suppression the patient might make a sudden move during a procedure, which could be dangerous. She also noted that each person reacts to pain differently and what’s most important is that you do what’s right for you. Whatever your chosen approach, I hope these find these thoughts helpful.