By Arthur Kezian
In Hollywood, it seems like there's a trick for everything -- from having the perfect hair, to keeping your mascara from running, to having an endless summer tan. Luckily, a good dentist has some tricks of his own for making your anesthesia injections less painful!
In Hollywood, it seems like there's a trick for everything -- from having the perfect hair, to keeping your mascara from running, to having an endless summer tan. Luckily, a good dentist has some tricks of his own for making your anesthesia injections less painful!
Instead of telling you to just be brave for a few seconds, a good dentist will take advantage of these 4 techniques, so that you can have painless injections!
1. Putting pressure on the injection site
If your dentist tugs on your lip or rubs your gum tissue right before he gives you your anesthesia injection, there's a good reason behind it. Putting a little bit of pressure on the injection area prevents your nerves from "talking" to each other. You may not know it, but the pain you feel actually comes from nerves that tell each other (and your brain) that something hurts. If they can't communicate, you won't be in pain.
It's no different than rubbing your elbow after you bump it on the dinner table. The rubbing eases your pain, because you're not letting the nerves speak.
2. Using numbing gel
In Hollywood, you can get a tan in a jar, so why can't you get some dental anesthesia relief in a jar?! A good dentist will have plenty of numbing gel on hand. Unfortunately, this gel isn't strong enough to numb you for an entire dental procedure -- so you can't entirely avoid a needle -- but it can eliminate all of the pain that comes with getting an injection.
When your dentist uses numbing gel, he rubs it right into your gum tissue long before you ever see a needle. As a result, the injection site will be completely numb, so that you don't even feel the needle going in!
3. Using the very sharpest needles
When it comes time to actually give you your injection, a good dentist will use needles that are incredibly sharp. That's because sharper needles go into your gum tissue more easily. As a result, your dentist won't have to struggle to insert the needle.
4. Injecting slowly
If your dentist injects you with anesthesia very quickly, he might think he's doing you a favor. However, he might actually be making things worse! By inserting the needle too quickly or with too much force, your dentist can actually tear your gum tissue. If that happens, the momentary sting of the needle will be followed by hours' worth of soreness.
Dr. Arthur A. Kezian DDS 443 N. Larchmont Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90004 (323) 467-2777
-N.S.
