# Do dentists use less anaesthetic now, or less for adults? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 22, 2013, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dentists-use-less-anaesthetic-now-or-less-for-adults/659023 "2013-05-22T15:13:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dentists-use-less-anaesthetic-now-or-less-for-adults/659023/21 "2013-05-24T20:27:31Z")
[quote=“Mama\_Zappa, post:19, topic:659023”] Ah - I didn’t realize that was the difference. Didn’t people sorta, yanno, suffocate on pure N2O??? Sure, but gererally they woud take a big hit from a container, not wear a mask for constant delivery like now. IIRC some kids out west about 15 years ago swiped a cylinder of n2o from a dental office and opened it in the closed cab of the pickup. Three dead. No cite or guarantee of my memory. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2013, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dentists-use-less-anaesthetic-now-or-less-for-adults/659023/22 "2013-05-25T01:01:34Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > IIRC some kids out west about 15 years ago swiped a cylinder of n2o from a dental office and opened it in the closed cab of the pickup. Three dead. No cite or guarantee of my memory. 25ish years ago, something similar happened in a restaurant near where we lived: it was an ice cream shop, where they used a lot of N2O for whipped cream. Apparently it’s a bad idea to fill a trash bag with that and stick your head in it :(. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2013, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dentists-use-less-anaesthetic-now-or-less-for-adults/659023/23 "2013-05-25T02:26:16Z")
N2O is the propellent in Ready Whip. I’ve seen kids buying 10 cans of it at once. AFAIK they release it into a plastic bag and inhale from it. Yea, sticking your head in a plastic bag isn’t usually a good idea. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2013, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dentists-use-less-anaesthetic-now-or-less-for-adults/659023/24 "2013-05-25T16:33:27Z")
The worst thing about my dentist is he uses what feels like a hollow steel log for a needle. Two days after, I still feel the wounds left by the injections. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2013, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dentists-use-less-anaesthetic-now-or-less-for-adults/659023/25 "2013-05-25T20:08:48Z")
When I was a kid back in the 60’s and 70’s I got fillings in all my back molars. Never got novacaine for any dental work. Plus my dentist stood up to work, which, when I saw a different dentist when we were in the military, I was told was very old-fashioned. The first time I had any numbing during a procedure was when I had a tooth pulled by an oral surgeon. I don’t recall any of those fillings being very painful at all, and they have lasted to the present day. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-dentists-use-less-anaesthetic-now-or-less-for-adults/659023.md?page=1)