Pain and Anxiety Control

Week 2 RA

Defined as the exposure to chemical, physiological, and psychological approaches to prevent and treat preoperative, operative, and postoperative pain and anxiety

Pain and anxiety control

May be prescribed to provide comfort to the patient when receiving dental care

Nitrous oxide-oxygen/antianxiety

Recommended for patients with the need for invasive or extensive dental treatment or for one who are medically or physically compromised

Intravenous sedation or general anesthesia

A procedure during which a highly concentrated anesthetic agent is topically applied to the area where local anesthetic injection is to take place

Topical anesthesia

The procedure was first introduced in the 1800s. The most frequently used form of pain control in dentistry is the drug of choice to reduce or relieve associated pain that may take place during and immediately after a dental procedure. Provides a safe, effective, and dependable method for a suitable duration in virtually all forms of dental treatment

Local anesthesia

The time frame from when the injection is given to the complete effective numbing sensation

Induction

The time frame from when the injection is given until the numbing sensation is gone

Duration

Added drug that has been added to the local anesthetic agent to slow down the intake of the anesthetic agent and increase the duration of action

Vasoconstrictor

Involves injecting the anesthetic solution into the tissue near the apices of the tooth to be treated

Infiltration anesthesia (infiltrating a maxillary tooth)

An alternative infiltration technique that involves directly injecting the anesthetic solution under pressure into the periodontal ligament and surrounding gingival tissue

Periodontal ligament injection

Involves injecting the anesthetic solution around a larger nerve, which means numbing a larger area. Injected into a nerve trunk in the mandibular bone

Block anesthesia

An important precautionary directive from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that contaminated needles used in dental procedures should be recapped by a

Recapping device or single-handed scoop technique

One of the most common forms of in-office pain control. The gas is inhaled through the nose and primarily acts as a sedative to help eliminate fear and to relax the patient. Produces a relaxing experience and dulls the perception of pain, such as during the injection of a local anesthetic agent or a simple procedure. The patient feels the effect almost immediately

Nitrous oxide analgesia (used interchangeably with inhalation sedation or psychosedation)

Drugs that dull the perception of pain without producing unconsciousness

Analgesic agents

Such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and acetaminophen. Used for the relief of low-intensity pain

Mild analgesic drugs

Can include a narcotic drug and are only to be prescribed for patients with severe pain, such as that which follows extensive surgical procedures. Examples are codeine, oxycodone, and morphine

Strong analgesic drugs