I feel you. My orthodontist was a total bumbler and now I'm suffering from the same problem.

If the damage isn't too severe and you can take a bit of pain, yes, he can. You have a dentist you visit regularly? Tell him to be gentle I'm not kidding, I worked out a deal with mine, when I raise my hand, he stops and we wait till the pain fades. Haven't had a local anesthesia in years.
(Do dentists still use Novocaine? Isn't it Lidocain nowadays?)

A merit-based system like that would never work here - the minute someone released a study that showed that a minority demographic was paying more for dental insurance (regardless of justification), there's be lawsuits all over the place.

More than likely, novacaine is just the generic when I talk about dentists though.

I actually just about fell asleep during my last cavity, the drill is a very white noise, plus I'm already reclining.

Funny story about my orthodontist that removed my wisdom teeth. I was informed by my mom that I shouldn't be intimidated by him before meeting him, which was weird because I am never nervous about the dentist or any surgeon for that matter. Then I was sitting in the chair and noticed a bunch of plaques on the wall. Then he walked through the door. When I say walked I mean he scooted in sideways because he was too wide to walk through normally. He was a Maryland State bodybuilding champion. Not contender, champion.

That is actually a cool story, bro.

This one time... no..... no I've got nothin'.

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The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury. -Marcus Aurelius, the true Emperor of Rome

Fuck you I tense up like a coiled spring as soon as I hear any sort of high pitched drilling noises. Root canal treatment at the age of 8. No anesthesia because the nerve was infected. Just the smell of fluoride makes me sweat bullets and causes my teeth to ache. But you numb to everything over time.

Heh, reminds me of my former physiotherapist. He's like 5 feet tall, 5 feet wide and has hands like a butcher. But they are the most nimble I've ever seen.

Have a seat by the fire, have a smore and share some of your stories about damaged teeth, weird looking doctors and childhood traumata.

Suicide is more common amongst dentists than any other medical profession.

My pediatric dentist hung himself in the office apparently.

Are you fine-fine now Tilgath?

If enemal is the same thing I'm thinking about, it's caused by you brushing your teeth too soon after your meals.

If you've eaten something sour or something very sweet, you need to let a few hours pass before even attempting to brush your teeth (at least if you use tooth paste, especially tooth paste with bleaching substances in it).

The most normal culprits would be orange juice, soda or tea/coffee with sugar.

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So far, yes. The pain has been so minor I haven't needed to take any meds. It's there though, so I'm eagerly awaiting when it fades. I'm also paranoid as shit that I'm going to get dry socket. So I'm nervously waiting until I'm past the one week point, since the vast majority happen during the first week or not at all.