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Dental Hygiene Anesthesia: Continuing The Education
By Seth
A dentist anesthetic is used for two reasons. The first is that it is used to calm the patient if the patient is anxious or feels uncomfortable at a dentist office. This would include a patient who simply dislikes dentist offices and dental procedures, or for children who have to undergo a more serious dental procedure that will take more time to finish.

The other reason is to numb a specific area of the patient's body so the patient does not feel any pain while a dental procedure is underway. Again, this could be for an adult or young patient who has to undergo a longer dental procedure. All dental anesthetics are applied on a case-by-case basis, usually decided by the dentist and the patient collectively. Patients should always feel very comfortable with the type of anesthetic used and the process involved for inducing the anesthetic.

- Dentist Injected Anesthetics:

Dentists will typically inject a local anesthetic in the mouth. This will be done in order to block sensory transmission to the inferior alveolar nerve. The teeth are usually anesthetized locally by inserting a needle beneath the oral mucosa surrounding the teeth. Many times the most common needle insert occurs near the patient's last molar. This is all part of the local anesthesia treatment, used to numb a very specific

area of the body, which is where the term "local" comes from. The patient is typically awake during the procedure and the effects of the local anesthetic will take less then five minutes to begin working.

- The Drugs Used:

Agents that are commonly used for dental anesthesia include the following:

- Lidocaine or Xylocaine (the modern replacement for Novocain)
- Nitrous Oxide (N2O: also known as laughing gas)
- Topical Anesthetics including Benzocaine (used to numb areas before injections)
- General Anesthesia (drugs such as Ketamine and Fentanyl are used for complete unconsciousness of the patient

- The Tools for the Job:

The dental syringe is used to administer the anesthetics. This syringe is a breach-loading syringe fitted with a cartridge that holds the anesthetic solution. If a patient feels any pain from the procedure, it usually is caused by the anesthetic being inject, and not the needle puncture as would be expected.

All dental anesthesia procedures that are completed by a dentist will include the local anesthesia and inducement by the patient drinking a anesthesia "cocktail." All other types of anesthesia procedures will most likely be done by a certified anesthesiologist that may be on call and used at the dentists discretion.

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