subject: No Anesthesia For Laser Dentistry Patients [print this page] Anesthesia is used to relieve pain by creating a lack of sensation. This means numbing the nerves that deliver pain signals to our brain. Unfortunately it also causes numbed muscles, loss of memory, and in the case of general anesthesia, complete loss of consciousness. Clinical studies have shown over 95% of all patients required no anesthesia when dental lasers are used to treat tooth decay. This not only provides a more comfortable experience and speeds up procedures, but it eliminates many risks as well.
With laser dentistry, patients no longer have to deal with numb mouths that can last for hours after treatment. Some local anesthetics such as lidocaine can stay in a persons system for up to two hours. General anesthetics can leave a person feeling dizzy and tired the rest of the day. It also means someone visiting a dentist wont have to rely on another person to drive them home after the procedure, which can often be an inconvenience.
Because of the way anesthetics work, they often need to affect an area larger than what is being treated by the dentist. Local anesthetic typically involves numbing the inferior alveolar nerve which causes loss of sensation among all the lower teeth, jaw, lips, and chin. Since laser dentistry is more precise, if any anesthetic is needed at all it is usually only topical which affects a smaller area. This also means there is no painful injection.
There are several serious side effects associated with the use of anesthesia. Paralysis of the facial muscles is meant to wear off after a couple of hours, but if the injection is not delivered correctly there is a risk of these effects being permanent. Another issue of improper injections is hematomas, which is blood pooling under the skin because of a cut. Some people have allergic reactions to drugs such as Novocaine, which can lead to restlessness, breathing problems, and in some cases minor convulsions. Use of nitrous oxide can cause low oxygen in the blood and excessive dizziness. Although these side effects are only seen by a small percentage of patients, laser dentistry can greatly lower or completely eliminate these risks.
Without anesthesia, patients can eat, talk and function more highly than in the past, providing them with a more pleasant dentist experience and leaving patients with the peace of mind to go on with their day.
