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The use of local anesthesia for dental care is very high within the United States, but it has risks and you may want to avoid it for a variety of reasons. Local anesthetic may remain the choice for most patients wanting to avoid the sensation of the dental drill, but for many the sensation of the dental drill is not that bad, or perhaps the dislike of the anesthesia of the tongue and cheek for even a small time is something they would like to avoid. For whatever reasons you may want to consider the following choices and seek out dentists that offer alternatives to the usual nerve block with local anesthetics. I would like to see proper informed consent for dental anesthesia include a discussion of these alternatives for dental work, including fillings and crowns of the teeth. The standard inferior alveolar nerve block or mandibular block carries the risk of permanent nerve damage to the lingual nerve or inferior alveolar nerve, which could be avoided by some of the following options. I have no personal experience with any of these techniques except self-hypnosis/mind control, or whatever you want to call trying to relax and ignore the sensation of the drill. BIBLIOGRAPHY: ELECTRONIC DENTAL ANESTHESIA HELPS ALLAY NEEDLE INJECTION PAIN
If you have had any experience with these alternatives, please let us know what you thought of them by adding your comments to the Discussion Board.
08/26/01 |
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