Many are afraid of the dentist, but with pain-free techniques we can help you overcome that fear.
Severe dental phobia is a real problem that affects millions of people across the world every year. Most dental phobic people are afraid of the pain they associate with going to the dentist.
Thankfully, pain-free dentistry is finally becoming a reality thanks to the following modern breakthroughs. Read on to help calm your dental phobia and get the nerves to, once again, get your teeth checked.
Lasers
In science fiction films, lasers are often frightening tools of destruction. In dentistry, they are the most positive form of pain-free dentistry. Cutting edge pain-free dentistry techniques are focused on using these highly focused light beams to not only eliminate pain, but cut surgery time by hours.
Lasers are regularly being used for more soft tissue work, such as gum surgery, and are praised for their accuracy and cleanliness. The laser will cut only what needs to be cut, instead of cutting out vast areas of the gum. As a result, there’s far less blood and much less need for sedation and other pain-control methods.
Other laser dental surgeries include:
- Attaching Periodontal Apparatus to Teeth
- Eliminating Infections
- Tooth Removal
Better Anaesthetics
Many dental phobic people are afraid of what will happen if their anaesthetic wears off during their surgery. With Novocaine, this was a possibility, as it often required multiple shots for lengthy procedures.
However, newer anaesthetics, like Lidocaine, eliminate that possibility. Lidocaine is one of the most popular new dental anaesthetics for a variety of reasons. They include:
- Quicker Effects
- Longer Effectiveness
- Better Pain Killing
- More Accurately Numbing
The last point is particularly poignant: Novocaine often required numbing the entire side of the face, leaving a person with droopy lips and skin for hours. Lidocaine, and other anaesthetics like it, affect a smaller and more focused area.
Sedation Dentistry
The previously mentioned painkillers are highly effective ways to control pain, but they may not be effective in controlling severe dental phobia. After all, patients will still be fully conscious and will feel the pressure of the drill on their teeth and gums. This unnerving feeling can cause panic.
These days, dentists utilise a wide variety of sedation techniques for the severely dental phobic. These techniques vary wildly in application and include oral conscious sedation and intravenous sedation
Oral conscious sedation requires wearing a mask that slowly and subtly introduces you to a relaxing gas. This gas will kill your pain and make you only dimly aware of what is occurring.
Intravenous sedation requires inserting a small, pain-free needle into a vein in your hand, one that introduces a sedation agent directly into your blood stream.
Electric Drills
Dental phobics are often terrified of the high-pitched scream of old-fashioned air drills. While they are a useful tool that is performing a necessary procedure, the sound is enough to inspire fear. Thankfully, dentists are foregoing these loud drills and are investing in new electric one.
Electric drills are much less noisy than air drills because they utilise a steady flow of electricity, rather than sudden bursts of air. They are also more stable than air drills, which results in fewer accidents and mistakes.
Composites or Porcelain Fillings
Dental phobics are often terrified of getting fillings because they associate them with the old-fashioned metal filling technique. Thankfully, metal fillings are quickly being replaced by composite and porcelain fillings.
These fillings are much less invasive than metal, cause almost no pain, and are tooth-coloured. This means they blend in better with their surroundings. Best of all: they cause less dental problems than metal fillings.
If you’re interested in these pain-free dental procedures, contact us to learn more. There’s no reason your dental phobia has to doom you to a life of bad oral health.
