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Dental Anaesthesia
Teeth And Anesthesia
Pain is the most common manifestation of dental disease and as such the advent of anesthesia may be regarded as a cornerstone in the development of modern dentistry. 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 as it is called 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.
History Of The Development Of Dental Anesthesia
The history of dentistry is somewhat chequred and is littered with unimaginable anecdotes. For example, the whole process of pulling out a tooth before anesthesia was known makes for interesting reading. The patient or in this case the victim was lead to an open field and a thread was tied around the offending tooth. Two burly lads held the patient down while the thread was pulled by a horse galloping at full speed! Later on barber dentists arrived and the process of getting a tooth pulled became more civilized. It must be pointed out though that 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.
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