this post was submitted on 30 Aug 2024
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I'm about to give myself a root canal/filling. I have no dental training. But the pain is more than I can bare.

Ask me anything.

I'm scared guys.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

I got a pretty bad infection on my thumb years ago from biting my nails. Doctor had to remove a chunk of infected tissue/pus or whatever it was using a scalpel. He tried 3 times to do local anesthesia, didn't work, so finally he said he just needed to get it done. It was the most agonizing thing I've ever experienced.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Do you still bite your nails after that? Not judging, genuinely curious.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I still did for a while after that, though I think I tried to be a lot more careful. A couple years ago I started to wear clear teeth aligners to straighten my teeth, and I couldn't really bite my nails while wearing them. Since I had to wear them 24/7 for 6 months I ended up losing my nail biting habit entirely.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago

I'm glad you got to a point where you stopped (and good for you for looking after yourself and straightening your teeth). It's wild that the habit pathways we build in our brain are so ingrained that even after such an unpleasant consequence we keep going, even without a chemical dependency.

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