What does it feel like when getting a cavity filled with no numbing medicine?

Answer 1

No. When I was a child, fillings were routinely done without anaesthesia or numbing. It did hurt, but you could take it. Sometimes the Novocaine shot can be just as brutal.

Of course, those were also the days when you got a sugar candy treat on your way out as a reward for being good. We hadn't really made the connection between sugar and cavities yet. Things are better now on both scores.

Answer 2

This entirely depends on the cavity.

For most moderate size cavities, that don't go too near the pulp (blood and nerve supply to the tooth) you can actually have filled without anaesthetics. You would just feel the vibration and pressure of the drill, possibly a bit of sensitivity- but no sharp pain.

However if you have alot of toothache and it is a very large cavity, you may get pain on drilling.

The actual filling of a cavity with material is painless, obviously.