Anesthesia

Proper administration of anesthesia is one of the most important aspects in the work of every dentist. Very often, the pain experienced by the patient impacts his/her final opinion about the whole treatment. It’s therefore a good assumption that a visit to the dentist shouldn’t be painful at all. Usually, in 95% cases, proper administration of anesthetics reduces pain and discomfort. The proper application and selection of an appropriate anesthetic depends mainly on the type of procedure performed and the patient’s pain threshold (some people react very strongly, even impulsively to pain, while other experience it less intensely).

At our practice, we use some of the most important and, at the same time, most popular anesthesia techniques. The first one is surface anesthetization, during which the dentist applies various types of cremes and gels without the use of injection. Another type of anesthetization is the administration of a single injection with an anesthetic – during which the patient feels slight numbness of the gums or cheek and sometimes also the tongue.

Other, less commonly used types anesthesia applied in dentistry include conduction anesthesia, intraligamentary anesthesia and endosteal anesthesia. In some of them, special equipment is used, such as The Wand, owing to which the dentist may automatically control the amount of anesthetic administered into the body.

In our practice, we use a simple, yet extremely effective instrument called DentalVibe. When applied properly, the patient doesn’t feel pain even when the anesthetic is administered by a vaccine.

What should the doctor know before giving you the anesthesia?

Always inform your dentist about your health condition, any diseases and medicines that you are taking.

If you have problems with the respiratory or circulatory system or have a sick liver, the dentist won’t be able to give you anesthesia in the form of a vasopressor (for example, containing adrenaline).

If you are taking psychotropic drugs, sleeping pills sedatives, or medications for slowing the heart rate – inform the dentist about it. Such medications, used in parallel with anesthetics, may cause, for instance, loss of consciousness.

Also, be careful if you are taking drugs (including “legal highs”, narcotics) which, in interaction with a large amount of anesthetics, may result in very serious consequences that can damage your health or even put your life at risk!

During the administration of anesthesia, stay alert. In case of experiencing problems with breathing, weakening, or signs of losing consciousness, inform the dentist about it in every way possible.

Be extra cautious if you have any allergies and be sure to inform your dentist about them. The doctor may perform an allergy test that will allow you to avoid anaphylactic shock which potentially may have very dangerous effects for your health.

Each visit to the dentist is an interference in your body. It’s always well advised to be vaccinated against hepatitis B.