When performing various dental procedures, dentists use suitable methods of pain relief. Sometimes it is necessary to use general anesthesia, but more often they still manage with local anesthesia.
How does anesthesia work?
Currently, almost all manipulations performed by the dentist are painless for the patient. There are anesthetics that relieve the patient from discomfort and pain, even directly at the time of injection of painkillers.
For anesthesia, pharmaceutical preparations are used that reduce the sensitivity of tissues for a while. After an injection of an anesthetic, the area of the oral cavity, in which they are going to carry out dental actions, becomes numb. In dental anesthesia, pain medications block nerve impulses that send pain signals from the nerve that innervates the tooth to the central nervous system. After a certain period of time, the drug is metabolized and excreted from the body. The nerve fiber normalizes its functions, and the ability to transmit impulses is restored.
Varieties of local anesthesia
Local anesthesia can be of the following types: conduction, application, infiltration, stem and intraosseous.
Conduction anesthesia
Conduction anesthesia is used when the surgical intervention area is quite extensive, since when it is used, the transmission of a pain signal is blocked in a sufficiently large part of the oral cavity. During conduction anesthesia, the drug passes through the entire trunk of the trigeminal nerve. This type of anesthesia is used when dental procedures are performed with molars or on the gums .
Application anesthesia
Preparations for application anesthesia are in the form of aerosols or soft dosage forms (ointments and gels). Application anesthetics are applied with gauze swabs. In this case, anesthesia is only superficial, it is resorted to when it is necessary to remove tartar , open an abscess under the mucosa, or perform other actions that do not require a deep incision.
Infiltration anesthesia
During infiltration anesthesia, an injection of a pharmaceutical preparation is made into the projection zone of the apex of the tooth root. At the same time, the nerve fiber, the innervating teeth and the part of the gum where the injection was made, lose their sensitivity. Infiltration anesthesia is particularly effective for anesthetizing maxillary teeth, as the maxillary bone is sufficiently cellular to allow drug penetration into the trabecular substance. This type of anesthesia is indicated for root canal therapy, pulp surgery and other dental procedures.
Stem anesthesia
Usually, stem anesthesia is done only permanently when performing surgical operations. When it is carried out, an anesthetic is injected at the base of the skull, which allows you to block the entire jaw system. This is the strongest and longest type of anesthesia .
Intraosseous (spongiose) anesthesia
With spongy anesthesia, an injection is placed directly into the bone between the roots of the teeth. To avoid pain, the gum must be anesthetized before the injection. This variant of anesthesia does not last long, during it the lips, cheeks and tongue do not lose their sensitivity. This method of anesthesia is the most optimal for tooth extraction .
General anesthesia in dentistry
General anesthesia is used when it is necessary to perform a wider amount of therapy or during complex surgical operations, as well as when the patient is allergic to local anesthetics or has a strong gag reflex, which does not allow the specialist to provide assistance.
The decision to use general anesthesia should be made in consultation with the anesthesiologist, who must be present during the medication to monitor the patient's well-being.
These types of dental anesthesia exist at the moment. Patients should not particularly think about how they will be anesthetized, since the doctor, if he is a true professional in his field, will select for you the most optimal option that suits your case.
