Anesthesia is a term that is pretty familiar to most people, even those who have never required it. Simply stated anesthesia is any form of pain reliever that is administered by a doctor to numb or lessen the pain of an ensuing medical procedure. In the case of dental anesthesia this generally means before a tooth extraction, a decay removal procedure, a root canal, etc. A lot of times this form of pain intervention is welcomed as tooth pain can be one of the most excruciating forms of pain in the world. It is important that you are honest with yourself about you pain tolerance levels and that you honest with your Dentist in Milpitas. There is no point in suffering needlessly when there is relief at hand.
Your Milpitas Dentist will probably offer you three choices for anesthesia. These three types are referred to as local, sedatives or general. A local is generally administered with an injection to a specific area. This means that instead of your entire body becoming numb or sedated only the area and the surrounding tissue will be affected by the medication. This is commonly used for filling cavities and, in strong doses, for tooth extractions. If you have a local you will be completely aware of what is happening and you may also be able to feel some pressure in the area that is being worked on but you should not feel pain.
Sedatives are ingested as pills or liquid painkillers and are used to promote a calming feeling in particularly anxious patients. This is important for patients with severe dental anxiety. Sedatives can also relieve minor pains and are recommended for smaller procedures. Sedatives can last for up to six hours. Finally, general anesthesia is used for dental surgeries, as it is extremely strong. This method is administered through an IV directly into the blood stream and causes a severe sedation, resembling deep sleep, keeping you completely unaware of any pain or procedures being done.