Novocaine and "high-speed" drill

[longago]

Hello,

This is a question for dentists.

My sisters and I had a dentist as kids in the 70s who didn't give us Novocaine when we got drilled. Our friends who had a different dentist got it.

My mother always said we didn't need it because our dentist used a "high speed" drill. Supposedly that was a special drill that ensured painless drilling, and it's true that it wasn't that bad, although there was indeed pain.

I'm just wondering if Mom was bullsh**ing us all those years. Is there any truth to the idea that a high speed drill hurts less?

Thanks,

Long ago

 

[letsconnect]

Yeah, complete bullshit (and funnily enough, I was told EXACTLY the same thing as a child )

Actually, I think where this BS came from was that before that (not sure about the timeframe here, maybe in the 50s?), the high-speed handpieces were slower (or that's what I was told as a child, anyway) so I suppose stuff took longer and also there might have been more vibration... so there might have been some improvement in pain level over the years when not using local anaesthetic. Which doesn't mean that a modern high-speed handpiece can't inflict exquisite pain when local anaesthesia isn't used ...

*edit* Sorry just noticed that your question was directed at dentists, maybe one of our dentists here can comment as well...

 

[Gordon]

Let's is right as usual

The actual "high speed drill" that we all use these days was only invented in the early 50s, it's called the air bearing handpiece, which totally revolutionised dentistry, previous drills would only get up to about 20,000 rpm so cut teeth very slowly, the air rotor can get into the hundreds of thousands rpm so cuts much much faster and with much less vibration.

I'll get my anorak and leave you alone now

 

[longago]

Thanks for the answers.

I mean, dentists have been giving Novocaine pretty much routinely for decades, right? You didn't have to ask for it, did you (in the 70s)?

 

[biffo1963]

Yes your mum was giving you BS, but to be fair to her the dentist probably gave her some equal BS about kids not feeling pain like adults (when really he just didn't like kids.) Not giving you a "local" probably made your visits that much cheaper, too......

Anyway you're right that novocaine and its descendants have been routine for decades providing you're seeing the right dentist. I went to a specialist School Dentist in the 1960s who wouldn't have dreamed of giving treatment without an anaesthetic.

As an adult of course you can insist on having/not having whatever you want. Any dentist nowadays should offer a local for all treatment, run away very fast if you encounter one who doesn't (and report him/her to the appropriate professional body too.) My dentist occasionally asks me if I WANT an anaesthetic ( for example when she is replacing an old or lost filling ) but, having asked me, always abides by my decision.

 

[letsconnect]

Having read this forum since its inception, I would say that giving local anaesthetic for potentially painful procedures was the norm in the 70s in the UK. Northern continental Europe less so! So depending on where you grew up, it may not have been all that unusual (which of course doesn't make it right!!).

 

[longago]

Oops, I forgot to mention that I am American, so I was referring to the US with the 70s and Novocaine.
I live in France now and I was appalled to learn that back in the 70s dentistry was pretty much in the dark ages.

Anyway, thank you all for the info. It clears something up for me.