Secrets to having painless Dental procedures

The mere thought of going through pain can trigger fear in an individual and affect his/her decision to visit the Dentist.

A relaxed and cooperative patient is every dentists joy as this will help him/her conclude treatments on time and be able to attend to other patients. The dentist therefore aims towards achieving a painless procedure by administering anaesthesia to make the area he/she wants to work on numb(deprived of sensation).

Procedures that require numbing include deep cleaning, fillings, removal of a tooth etc

Various numbing methods

1. Topical anaesthesia: this can either be anaesthetic gel or spray applied to the surface of soft tissues (the gum or cheek) to achieve some degree of numbing. It is usually used before the introduction of the needle to minimize the pain caused by the needle prick. Its numbing effect is usually short. Anesthetic Sprays cover a wider area than topical gels; they can be used for a number of simple procedures such as removing very mobile baby tooth or getting out a piece of fish bone/popcorn chaff stuck between the teeth. The effect wears off within minutes.
2. Anaesthetic solution: this is administered with the aid of a dental syringe and needle. Do not be alarmed at the sight of the syringe as the size is to enable the solution cartridge fit in. The numbness usually wears off within 3 to 4 hours so care should be taken not to accidentally bite the lip or cheek before the numbness wears off as this may result in a deep bite injury.

Other forms of anaesthesia not commonly administered include

• Sedation: sometimes, your dentist may decide to give you additional medication to help you relax and take pain away; this is known as sedation. This can be done by a dentist who is trained in administering sedation.
• General anaesthesia: rarely, the patient might need to be put to sleep to complete treatment. Such treatment may include repairing an extensive jaw fracture or removing a jaw growth.

Secrets: BE RELAXED. It is important to differentiate between pain and pressure as some patients wrongly interpret pressure as pain. 

If after your dentist has given you anaesthesia to make your tooth numb you still feel pain, please raise your left hand to call the dentists attention and inform him/her you still feel pain. This is the most important secret to having a painless dental treatment.