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Δευτέρα 22 Οκτωβρίου 2012

Local Dental Anaesthesia


 Today's post is about one of the most important weapons of the dentist in order to perform dental procedures. And of course I am referring to dental anaesthesia.
 In the past, any and every  dental procedure-mainly tooth extractions-were done without anaesthesia. This resulted in something like the following picture where the tooth- drawer (not dentist), using all his talents, especially his physical strength was able to get the job done!  
                       
Things fortunately have changed since then! Nowadays most dental procedures eg fillings, periodontal treatment , endodontic treatment, extractions, etc. are done ​​under local anaesthesia. Even a dental cleaning of the teeth, for patients who are sensitive and anxious, can be done under local anaesthesia.
 Local anaesthesia is(..wait for it!) the bait for patients to come to the dentist. What do I mean? Visiting the dentist is not the most favorite thing for many people due to the fear of pain. But if the patient knows that it will not hurt or that they will not feel it as much, they are more likely to come. Anaesthesia not done with this  

                                      
nor that 

                            
Anaesthesia is performed with special anaesthetic solutions, which are in a glass container/tube like the following. 

 
This glass tube goes into a dental syringe.

 
 And in order for the anaesthetic to be administered locally to  the tissues, a dental needle must be used. Of course these materials are used for anaesthesia in dental surgeries . 

 

There is also the local anaesthetic, which is used to avoid the patient feel the pinch of the dental needle, which is either in a spray form or in the form of gel (with different flavors) ,as shown in the next pictures
 
   I know in advance that many will have goose bumps, by simply looking at the previous pictures, but I believe that words that are more intimidating than the pictures, so I have pictures to accompany all of the steps of dental anaesthesia. Because at the mere sound of the words “Dental/local anaesthesia” we  all have a tendency to fear, because we think it will hurt. Many times words hurt more than the process itself.

  Now let us see together the procedure of dental anaesthesia.

There are two types of dental anaesthesia: The supraperiostal anaesthesia, which is the light anesthesia, usually in the upper jaw, because the bone is more porous,so the local anaesthetic can infiltrate the nerve more easy. The  technique presented in the following video:





 The branch bloch anaesthesia(inferior alveolar nerve) is usually in the lower jaw, where the bone is more compact ,in order to numb a  smaller branch of the trigeminal nerve.It numbs the whole quadrant of the area administered.





The branch block anaesthesia takes longer to regain consciousness than the supraperiostal one. Meaning that the numb feeling of the quadrant of the mouth(or the half of the jaw),that affects the inferior alveolar nerve, takes about 4 hours to go away; whereas  for a subperiostal anaesthesia it takes about half an hour up to one hour. In that case the patient must be careful not to bite the inside of his/her cheek.Due to the fact that he/she can not feel the bite,there is the risk of constantly chewing it  like a bubble gum,thus resulting in an injury. 

One last thing to remember.There is also a procedure for local anaesthesia called sedation.During a sedation a mixture of  nitrous oxide is used,in order to make the patient feel a bit dizzy.The procedure is explained in the following video

This kind of dental anaesthesia is not used in Greece,but it is an option on other countries.


I hope I have  informed you about dental anaesthesia and  demystified the process a bit . Do not forget to smile!

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