DISEASES OF TEETH: PAINLESS DENTISTRY
March 11th, 2009 | Posted by admin | Category: General healthNo Comments
New instruments and improved techniques make it possible for the dentist to work faster, more gently, and less painfully. Water-cooled air drills avoid creating pain-producing heat. Ultrasonic (faster than sound) devices and extremely high-speed rotary drills are among other recent developments in dentistry.
Years ago, dentists used anaesthetics only when extracting teeth. Today, most dentists use them with children as well as adults for almost all painful procedures, including preparing teeth for fillings. The most popular methods are the injection of procaine hydrochloride (Novocaine) into the nerves or gums, and the inhalation of nitrous oxide gas. Some dentists use the light-nitrous-oxide-analgesia method. (Analgesia means insensibility to pain.) The patient inhales a mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen through a nosepiece. Although he remains conscious and is aware of the drilling, his sensations are so dulled that it does not hurt him. People who are suffering from certain diseases should not take the gas.
A type of mild analgesia that I recommend for nervous or sensitive patients is a pain-killing medicine such as ordinary aspirin (or stronger pain relievers such as codeine.) If the tablets are taken orally an hour before your appointment, they can make a real difference. Sometimes a sedative such as phenobarbitone will be very helpful, especially for children.
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