Someone up-thread mentioned anaesthetic. What is that like these days?
In 1993, I had 2 teeth removed following a car accident. The needle went into my gums to numb it, and to relieve the needle pain, they placed this cotton wool in my mouth first. Think it was soaked in some liquid that was a temporary pain relief so that you didn't feel the needle as much. Then once the anaesthetic was administered, you were numb for the next 6 hours or so.
Anaesthetics have come along way in the last 10 years or so.
I remember having fillings in my mid teens, and the injections used to numb the entire side of your mouth. - to the point where you can't even drink from a glass/cup without spilling down yourself.
Now they seem to be able to numb very locally to the tooth/gum, so that the rest of your mouth works fine - infact you don't even realise there is any numbness.
WRT the injection itself, i've never been too bothered by it (much prefer that than the drilling), and normally the numbness kicks in immediately, so any discomfort from the needle is very quick. The only time i've ever noticed is much later in the day when everything has worn off, the area of the gum where the needle went in can feel a little tender.