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Pain is the most common manifestation of dental disease and the advent of anesthesia may be regarded as a cornerstone in the development of modern dentistry. Anesthesia is used not only for extraction of teeth, but also for procedures that cause pain such as drilling cavities or cleaning the teeth deep into the gums.

Historically, dental pain or a toothache is regarded as the worst thing experienced by man since times immemorial. Despite the development of modern equipment and technical expertise, if there is one thing that dentists have been unable to control, it is the pain that presents itself in a variety of ways. In fact the nerve in the tooth or the pulp has fibers that can transmit only pain as a response to any stimulus. These fibers are unique to the body in this regard. A visit to a dentist is the scariest experience for some people, while others are able to sail through it relatively unscathed. It is here that anesthetic agents have served as a blessing to dentists and patients alike.

Dental anesthesia can be administered intra-orally or extra-orally.

The spectrum of dental anesthesia includes -

Local Anesthetics
Sedatives
General Anesthetics

Lidocaine is the most commonly used local anesthetic agent. Inadvertent injection into a blood vessel can lead to complications like hematoma (collection of blood outside the blood vessels).

Published on Sep 26, 2014
Last Updated on Sep 26, 2014

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APA

Dr. Trupti Shirole. (2014, September 26). Dental Anesthesia - Types - Modern Anesthetics - Administration - Contraindications And Complications - FAQs. Medindia. Retrieved on May 30, 2023 from https://www.medindia.net/patients/patientinfo/dental-anesthesia.htm.
MLA

Dr. Trupti Shirole. "Dental Anesthesia - Types - Modern Anesthetics - Administration - Contraindications And Complications - FAQs". Medindia. May 30, 2023. <https://www.medindia.net/patients/patientinfo/dental-anesthesia.htm>.
Chicago
Dr. Trupti Shirole. "Dental Anesthesia - Types - Modern Anesthetics - Administration - Contraindications And Complications - FAQs". Medindia. https://www.medindia.net/patients/patientinfo/dental-anesthesia.htm. (accessed May 30, 2023).
Harvard
Dr. Trupti Shirole. 2014. Dental Anesthesia - Types - Modern Anesthetics - Administration - Contraindications And Complications - FAQs. Medindia, viewed May 30, 2023, https://www.medindia.net/patients/patientinfo/dental-anesthesia.htm.