Just mention that you’re going for a dental visit and you’re sure to hear a horror story from a well-meaning friend, usually involving some degree of pain. Many people expect dentistry to be painful — after all, it’s a medical field and sometimes medical procedures hurt, right? Wrong. There’s absolutely no need to experience pain when undergoing a dental procedure. Painless dentistry isn’t an oxymoron, and it isn’t a myth: it’s a standard of care that is becoming the rule rather than the exception.
What is Painless Dentistry?
A truly painless experience begins the moment you walk in the door for your appointment. Greeted with a warm smile and confident, helpful staff members, your relationship with your dental team and your confidence in them only helps to make the experience as smooth as possible.
In addition to making sure you know what to expect from your visit, your dentist’s entire office staff; from the receptionist to the hygienists and assistants who have a hand in your care are working to put you at ease. And when you’re at ease, your body responds better to pain control and relief measures.
The experience of painless dentistry continues when you’re sitting in an exam room, where every effort is made to ensure that your unique needs are taken into account when you’re offered pain preventatives and relief.
Is It Just About Medication?
Painless dentistry isn’t just about numbing you up so you don’t feel discomfort during your dental treatments. Every detail is seen to ensure your visit is as stress-free and painless as possible. Different means and methods of care are combined to provide an experience that’s free from discomfort. Even your dentist’s techniques are aimed at minimizing pain.
That said, some treatments do rely on medication to control pain. Your dentist will ask you some questions and consult your medical history form to determine what pain relief measures are appropriate for you during a treatment. Various factors play into what types of pain control measures may work best for you, including but not limited to:
- Age
- Weight and height
- Activity level
- Prescription medications
- Non-prescription substance use, including caffeine, nicotine and alcohol
If you have questions about pain relief, control or prevention or have concerns about the medications and methods that might be used during your treatment, talk to your dentist or a member of their team. Remember, anxiety heightens pain receptors and your doctor wants you at ease!
Painless Even After Your Treatment
Making your visit pain free doesn’t stop when your treatment ends. The care you receive after sitting in the chair makes a difference in how your mouth feels later, especially for more intense treatments.
If you’ve gotten a tooth extracted, for example, you may be given a warm cloth to place over your face to help ease discomfort and inflammation, even though you’ll still be numb from the procedure. This is just one example of aftercare measures that some dental offices use to make sure you’re as comfortable as possible.
If you have any questions about how pain relief is handled after treatments, speak to your dental care team prior to a procedure. Remember, they want you to know what’s going on! After a treatment, you’ll be advised of any measures you can take at home to ease any discomfort you might experience and be given an overview of what, if any, pain relief drugs you can use.
I Want Painless Dentistry!
Painless dental care may not always be the number one priority of all dental practitioners. If you’re simply picking a practice at random after searching for “family dentists near me” in a search engine, you have no way of knowing what their principles are without interrogating office staff while making your appointment — and that’s certainly not painless.
The offices of Drs. Krieger and Hur make painless cosmetic dentistry easy and convenient, often completing procedures the same day! When your smile needs perfecting, but your time is limited, give us a call at 201-560-0606 or email us here and we’ll get you fast-tracked back to eye-catching confidence.
We heard your selfies could be a lot better, so we wrote a “How to Take a Great Selfie” guide to help you show off our great handywork. It’ll be our little secret! You don’t have to tell anyone that your dentist helped you perfect those iconic social media images.
Just click the here, enter your email and download the PDF. Nothing could be easier. While you’re at it, go ahead and sign up for our newsletter for more tips for keeping that smile white and bright.
