Anesthetizing the area where a dental procedure will occur has often been the most awkward part of dentistry. It is a potential source of pain from less-than-optimal anesthetizing and insertion of the needle, and can leave a patient with the “mouth full of cotton” feeling for hours after the procedure has completed.
Single-tooth anesthesia (STA) is an emerging technique that eliminates some of the dangers associated with anesthetization and minimizes more of the negative side effects.
By opting for single-tooth anesthesia, you may be able to prevent pain during your next dental procedure.
Understanding the Pitfalls of Traditional Anesthesia Techniques
Traditional techniques require an approach where the dentist must judge the efficacy of anesthesia based on the patient’s feedback. While this may be enough for relatively simple procedures, deeper fillings and extractions may be painful for a patient even when anesthetic has been administered.
There are a few reasons for this. The first concerns the way traditional anesthesia work. They must affect a larger area, which requires more anesthetic. This numbs the area to a certain degree, but may not numb it enough to prevent the most intense pain.
The second revolves around the way the body tends to absorb anesthetic. More must be supplied to interrupt the communication between nerves and the brain.
The last reason traditional anesthesia may fail pertains to the way it must be administered. Dentists do not have a proper way to gauge the effectiveness of anesthesia; thus, they must rely upon the patient and experience to help them judge.
Single-Tooth Anesthesia: Revolutionizing Pain-Free Dentistry
By utilizing periodontal ligament (PDL) injection techniques, a single tooth can be numbed and prepared for any given dental procedure. This technique requires less anesthesia while offering a more efficient way of preventing pain.
Single-tooth anesthesia utilizes this technique while integrating tiny sensors to detect changes in patient responses. This allows it to provide a safe way of preventing pain while applying anesthesia to just one tooth.
It overcomes the challenges of PDL anesthetization techniques by only applying as much force as is needed. This minimizes damage to the periodontal ligament while ensuring that the needle can travel deep enough into any soft tissue to deliver an effective dose of anesthesia.
Increasing Patient Comfort
Single-tooth anesthesia increases patient comfort in three major ways:
- It minimizes the amount of pain during the anesthesia procedure due to the precise control of pressure.
- It delivers a more effective anesthetic that ensures the patient will be as comfortable as possible during any procedures.
- It minimizes the amount of lasting numbness a patient feels after undergoing a procedure, allowing the patient to resume his or her activities after the appointment.
The result is a better anesthesia that makes the patient more comfortable. This allows for a more effective treatment while reducing the amount of fear and anxiety that tends to be common amongst patients.
Contact Us
To learn more about single-tooth anesthesia, contact Blue Turtle Dental today. Our experts can give you more information about this ground-breaking way to apply anesthesia to just one tooth.