Is My Dentist Using Novocaine to Numb My Mouth?
Dentists employ local anaesthetic to guarantee the comfort and safety of their patients during dental procedures; however, the anaesthetic used is not Novocaine. Although we typically refer to the injection we receive before to receiving dental work as “a dose of Novocaine,” dentists have not used this chemical to numb patients’ mouths for more than 30 years.
What Do They Actually Use?
Today, lidocaine is the most often used local anaesthetic by dentists in the United States. Lidocaine, like Novocaine, is used to create numbness or lack of feeling in isolated areas of the body. During painful dental treatments, such as drilling, lidocaine is supplied through a short injection into the gums. Patients will often feel just slight pressure after a little squeeze.
In comparison to Novocaine, the transition to lidocaine was made due to its efficacy and lower likelihood of causing adverse responses.
The Evolution of Local Anesthesia in Dentistry
The history of medicines used in dentistry is extensive and rather frightening. Some of the medications our grandparents and great grandparents were given for dental procedures are now considered extremely harmful, and dentists would never contemplate using them today!
Can you guess what medicine was originally used as a numbing agent by dentists? While there were numerous other treatments being used, the most popular was making patients consume enormous amounts of alcohol. Cocaine was the first local anaesthetic used in a dental operation in 1884. While cocaine was more efficient than alcohol at producing numbness, it was not without its drawbacks.
The medication procaine, which is the general term for Novocaine, was created in 1905. Because the business that supplied procaine as Novocaine swiftly became the most extensively used by dentists, the drug’s brand name stayed. A novel family of local anaesthetics was created in the mid-1900s. With new medications on the market that were less likely to produce adverse responses, Novocaine’s popularity began to wane in the 1960s. By 1980, the majority of dentists had switched to lidocaine.
Keep in mind that local anaesthetics are intended to provide comfort and safety.
While the thought of receiving an injection may be frightening, dentists give them with professional discretion and safety procedures. Local anaesthetics are used during dental procedures to keep patients as comfortable as possible. If you have any questions or concerns concerning the anaesthetics used at Daxon Dentistry, please contact us before booking your next dental operation!
