Everything we do, and what each one feels like

What it feels like

Nothing sharp happens at a first check-up. We use a mirror and a blunt-ended probe that we rest against each tooth and slide along it — you will feel tapping and a faint scrape, and you will hear us calling numbers to the nurse. That is a charting shorthand, not a verdict. The genuinely uncomfortable part is holding your mouth open for a few minutes at a stretch. Close it whenever you want. Nobody is going to sigh at you.

What it feels like

Identical to the first one and about ten minutes quicker. If it has been years rather than months, that changes nothing about the appointment — we are not going to comment on the gap. It is genuinely the most ordinary thing we see.

What it feels like

The small film is the part people dislike most and it lasts four seconds. You bite on a plastic holder with hard corners that presses into the floor of your mouth. If you gag easily, tell us first — we have smaller sensors, and there is a technique that photographs from outside the cheek instead. The panoramic one is easier: you stand still and a machine circles your head for twelve seconds without touching you.

What it feels like

This is the loud one. The ultrasonic scaler is a high whistle very close to your ear and it sprays cold water constantly; a nurse holds a suction tube so you are not swallowing. Where the gum is already inflamed it can sting briefly, like catching a scratch. If cold makes your teeth jump, say so before we start — numbing gel and warmer water both help, and neither costs anything. Your gums may bleed. That is the inflammation, not damage, and it settles within a week or two of brushing that area properly.

What it feels like

We numb this. You will feel the injection — a sharp scratch and then a spreading ache for about ten seconds — and after that the quadrant goes heavy and thick. You will feel firm pressure and scraping through the bone, which sounds worse than it is. Afterwards the area aches for a day or two and the teeth feel longer, because the swollen gum has gone down. Hot and cold sensitivity for a couple of weeks is normal and it does fade.

What it feels like

The injection is the worst part of this appointment and it is about ten seconds long: a scratch, then a heavy ache while it spreads, then nothing. We wait a full five minutes before touching the tooth — not two, five. Then the drill: a high whine and a feeling of pressure and cold water, and a smell you may notice. Pressure, not pain. If you feel anything sharp, raise your left hand and we stop. That is not a formality; it almost always means the numbing needs topping up, which takes two more minutes and is completely normal.

What it feels like

Root canals do not hurt more than fillings. The reputation comes from the state people are in when they finally come in — the pain was already there, and the treatment is what ends it. You are numb the whole way through. What you will actually notice is the time: an hour or more with your mouth open, and a rubber dam clamped over the tooth, which feels like a peg on your gum for the first minute and then stops registering. We stop for a break whenever you ask. Your jaw will ache afterwards from being open, not from the treatment.

What it feels like

Longer than the front-tooth version and usually split across two appointments so neither one is punishing. Same sensations: numb throughout, pressure rather than pain, and the ache in your jaw at the end is from holding it open. If you are someone who cannot lie flat or cannot keep still for that long, tell us at the assessment and we will plan it in shorter blocks. That is a scheduling problem, not a character flaw.

What it feels like

The first visit is a longer filling: numb, pressure, water, the whine of the drill. Then a mould or a scan, and a temporary crown glued on. The temporary is the annoying part — it feels bulky for about three days, your tongue will not leave it alone, and it can come off on something chewy. That is not an emergency; ring us and we will re-cement it. The second visit is five minutes and usually needs no injection at all.

What it feels like

This is the one that gets described wrongly, so plainly: you will feel firm, strong pressure and a lot of pushing and rocking, and you will hear a creak or a crack. That noise is the ligament letting go, conducted through bone straight to your ear — it is loud to you and almost silent to the room. It should never be sharp. If it is sharp, raise your left hand. Afterwards you bite on gauze for twenty minutes, and the socket aches for two or three days.

What it feels like

Same pressure and creaking as a simple removal, plus a section where we use a drill to divide the tooth so it comes out in pieces rather than forcing the whole thing. That is the noisiest part. You get stitches — you will feel the tug of the needle but not the point — and they dissolve in about ten days. Expect swelling that peaks on day two and looks worse than it feels, and take the painkillers before the numbness wears off rather than after.

What it feels like

The aim of this appointment is to stop the pain today, not to fix everything today. That usually means opening a tooth to release pressure, dressing it, or taking it out — and it usually works within minutes of the anaesthetic taking hold. We will tell you what it will cost to finish the job properly, and then you can go away and think about it. If you are in pain right now, ring us rather than filling in the form.