The Fear of Anesthesia
A common aspect of dental anxiety many people experience is the fear of needles and anesthetic injections. Receiving local anesthetic before a dental procedure is often essential for a comfortable and pain-free experience. However, dental injections have a bad reputation for being extremely uncomfortable. At Welcome Smiles, we are happy to offer our patients anesthetic injections using a computerized device, the Single Tooth Anesthesia (STA) system, which significantly reduces discomfort.
The Old Way
The traditional method of injecting dental anesthetic involves using an aspirating syringe. This syringe has a barrel that holds a small vial of medicine and an end to attach the disposable needle. The dentist places the needle into the soft tissues surrounding the teeth, such as the gums or palate. The medication interacts with the nerves in the mouth, preventing pain signals from reaching the brain during the dental procedure. Unfortunately, this traditional aspirating syringe has a bad reputation because the injection looks intimidating, and as the anesthetic is injected, the pressure from the liquid can cause discomfort as the oral tissues stretch to accommodate the volume.
The New and Improved Way
The STA machine we use in our office is a computerized injection system that times the release of the medication so that less pressure is experienced by the patient. We place the carpule of medicine into the machine, and it slowly pushes the medicine into the needle, allowing the medication to flood the oral tissues gradually. This reduces the pressure and significantly minimizes pain and discomfort. The STA machine also has a pressure sensor that the dentist can use to precisely position the needle, ensuring only the necessary areas are numbed and reducing collateral numbness in large areas of the oral cavity.
At Welcome Smiles, we exclusively use the STA injection technique to administer local dental anesthetics during appointments. The dentist first coats the oral tissues with a topical anesthetic to make the initial needle pinch less noticeable. The STA machine is then used to inject the longer-lasting anesthetic solution. Many patients comment on how much more comfortable the STA injection method is compared to the traditional aspirating syringe and how it makes them feel more at ease during their treatment. At Welcome Smiles, our goal is to provide the most painless and comfortable experience possible for our patients.
Tags: generaldentistry