Went in for a crown the other day. The dentist got called away to a different patient midway through. Anesthesia started wearing off. Dentist took her time with the other patient. I was fairly tensed up by the time she got back. I was doing my best to balance being polite with limiting how much the pain affected me. The longer she was gone, the less I was able to pretend I wasn’t in pain. My strategy for pain management is tensing inwards, and I hadn’t raised my voice or cursed. I was waiting for my turn.
A friend who works there later told me that the dentist said I scared her and she thought I was going to harm her. I can’t seem to make sense of that. I can’t think of what threatening behavior I displayed, unless dentists getting attacked by patients is just a thing they have to deal with.
It’s a situational thing. If I hoot and holler and make the dentist tap out, then I’m left with a nearly exposed pulp chamber and then have to find someone willing to jump in midway. If she doesn’t tap out but can’t concentrate on her work, then I get a bad crown and get to pay for a root canal. Being noisy might get a more quick response, but it adds in complications. Expensive and painful complications.