Effective Pain Control

At Adult Dentistry of Rochester, effective pain control is one of the most important aspects of patient care.  Researching the dental history of new patients, Dr. Dulski asks the question, "Have you ever had a bad experience in a dental office?"  He found the most common response is difficulty getting numb.  The failure to completely numb a tooth prior to a dental procedure is the most serious difficulty facing patients in the dental office and is the patient's greatest fear.

This is a particular problem when teeth are abscessed and the lower molar is involved.  The reason for this is the change in tissue chemistry caused by the infection making the anesthesia less effective on the nerve fiber and the increased density of the bone in the lower jaw making the penetration of the anesthetic solution through tissue to the underlying nerve more difficult.  Numbing an upper tooth by depositing solution in the tissues next to the root of the tooth is sufficient to allow the solution to infiltrate to the nerve to stop the transmission of pain signals effectively numbing the tooth.  Because of the thicker bone in the lower jaw preventing this infiltration, an injection is given more deeply in the tissue before the nerve enters the bone.  And here is where the difficulty arises.  Failure rates for this type of block injection versus an infiltration injection are caused by the absence of landmarks to help a dentist locate the proper site to deposit the anesthetic solution deeply in tissue.  It is many times more difficult to deposit solution next to an elusive nerve in the back of the mouth than next to the roots of a visible tooth, thus, the higher failure rates for consistently completely numbing a lower tooth.

This difficulty in providing consistently reliable numbness for a lower tooth can be frustrating for most dentists.  The term "mandibular slump" accurately describes the problem faced by dentists, when for no apparent reason, they endure periods of almost absolute failure when performing a mandibular block injection.  Patients whose dentist were able to successfully numb their  lower teeth now have to undergo multiple injection or suffer through incomplete numbness.  The problem soon may become psychological, leading the dentist to doubt his abilities.

At Adult Dentistry of Rochester, we specialize in completely numbing patients who have had difficulty in the past and manage the associated anxiety of dental care with sedation.  Dr. Dulski uses alternative injection techniques and devices to the traditional mandibular block injection should that prove necessary to completely numb lower teeth prior to dental procedures.  Visit Adult Dentistry of Rochester to learn how we focus exclusively on your comfort, and assure that you are fully relaxed and anxiety-free.  Dr. Dulski is committed to not even attempting a procedure unless you are 100% comfortably numb while in his care.

Tags: Pain Control, Mandibular Block Injection