The sound of "squeaking" teeth is a childhood shadow of many people. In childhood, the habits of eating sweets and neglecting teeth cleanliness tend to cause problems such as tartar and tooth decay. The pain of dental treatment may cause many people to suffer from dentist phobia. Fortunately, with the advancement of dental technology and the application of anesthetics, the pain caused by treatment is gradually diminishing.
1. Local Anesthesia
Local anesthesia is used for most dental treatments such as tooth filling, root canal treatment, tooth removal, and some minor oral operations. The dentist will inject anesthetic near the teeth of the patient to be treated, which temporarily disables the nerve endings and provides painless treatment. The patient is completely awake during the procedure, and the effect of the anesthetic will subside after two to three hours.
When a small number of patients with dentist phobia require or undergo a larger operation, doctors will consider using deeper anesthesia as appropriate. For example, intravenous (IV/MAC) sedation allows patients to receive treatment in a more relaxed or lethargic state; general anaesthesia is arranged at a designated hospital only when clinically required.
2. Intravenous Sedation
IV sedation calms the patient before anaesthesia and treatment are carried out. Sedative drugs are given through a vein, so the depth of sedation can be adjusted and monitored continuously by a registered anaesthetist, and the effect wears off once the infusion is stopped. Patients are deeply relaxed throughout and usually remember little or nothing of the procedure.
Children, people with disabilities, or severely anxious patients may need intravenous or general anesthesia. Children's fear of surgery is difficult to restrain, which leads to tension and turbulence during the treatment process. The sedation anesthesia of children's dentistry is mainly to reduce the risk of the treatment process. Intravenous sedation anesthesia is also called monitoring anesthesia.
The anesthesiologist first lets the child inhale the yellow gas of anesthesia to enter shallow sleep, and injects local oral anesthesia and establishes an intravenous infusion to control the depth of sleep of the patient in an unconscious state, ensuring that the patient does not experience pain during the process of dental treatment.
During the process, the anesthesiologist and dentist coordinate with each other to reduce the risk. The anesthesiologist monitors the patient's heartbeat, blood pressure, breathing, blood oxygen concentration, etc. with instruments throughout the process, makes accurate assessments and immediate care, protects the patient's physiological condition, and reduces the occurrence of sudden conditions. After the operation, the intravenous anesthetic was stopped, and the patient's physical condition was assessed after the patient woke up, and the patient was allowed to leave after the recovery reached the standard.
Intravenous anesthesia is deeper than gas anesthesia, and its effect is faster and more stable, but it is milder than general anesthesia. Only the patient's physical condition needs to be carefully monitored to control the amount of medicine. In addition to the oral treatment of children, this method is also suitable for more complex adult treatments to reduce the psychological pressure on patients.
3. General Anesthesia
General anesthesia is to make the patient lose consciousness and sensation during the operation. During the procedure, intubation is needed, and the doctor controls the breathing. For large-scale surgery, such as cheekbone surgery, cheek reformation, etc., general anesthesia can reduce the discomfort caused by prolonged surgery.
However, it should be noted that general anesthesia requires the use of multiple drugs, such as anesthetic gases, anesthetics, muscle relaxants and painkillers, with higher surgical risks. Therefore, doctors need to have a clear understanding of the patient's condition to decide which anesthetic method to use.
