Going to the dentist used to be a drama, everyone used to put off visiting the dentist until the pain drove them through the dentist's door. Getting a tooth fixed was always accompanied by several painful injections with a great big needle to numb mouth and cheek. Then tingling and dribbling as the anesthetic wore off was just part of the deal.
Well no more, a few dentist have a newly FDA cleared system called Single Tooth Anesthesia (STA). This new anesthetic administers a small amount of anesthesia to only the tooth the dentist works on, both to start with, and then all the while the tooth is being worked on.
STA only takes a couple of minutes to work, and wears off quickly, no embarrassing drooling, or those nasty bites inside your cheek after the anesthesia wears off.
The STA system is expensive, not to you as a patient but for the dentist to by the system in the first place, so as yet few dentist have the STA system. It's well worth checking with your local dentist to see if they have the Single Tooth Anesthesia System, because if they don't it might be just as well to find a dentist that does, as it might suggest your local dentist doesn't keep their dental equipment or dental techniques up-to-date.
So go get that dental check-up you have been putting off, you'll be one of the first people in the country to try out this new system, and have something new to talk about with your friends. Before you tell them about Single Tooth Anesthesia I will bet, just the mention of going to the dentist will have them screwing up their face, and be ready to start telling horror stories, and you can honestly say you didn't have any pain or even discomfort at all when you had your root canal or dental implant done.
San Diego Dentist using the single tooth anesthesia system.
