# Have there been major improvements in dental anesthetics in the past few decades? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 26, 2025, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-major-improvements-in-dental-anesthetics-in-the-past-few-decades/1016134 "2025-03-26T11:52:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-major-improvements-in-dental-anesthetics-in-the-past-few-decades/1016134/21 "2025-03-27T16:04:01Z")
**Broomstick** Not legal to advertise “painless dentistry” in Texas. **minor7flat5** Probably articaine. There are those that think that it isn’t safe to use on mandibular blocks. I have spoken with the Gods of local anesthesia, Stanley Malamed and Mel Hawkins and am convinced it is safe. It works quicker than lidocaine. Additionally the closer one is to the nerve the faster it works so yes, placement is a key factor. On mandibular blocks sometimes the outside of the molars doesn’t get numb and requires an aditional injection in a different spot. On the uppers sometimes the roof of the mouth side of the molars doesn’t get numb also requiring additional anesthetic. For fillings I’d wait to see how the person responded as most were fine with the regular injection. For extractions and root canals I always gave the additional anesthetic prior to starting. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-major-improvements-in-dental-anesthetics-in-the-past-few-decades/1016134/22 "2025-03-27T21:37:46Z")
Like many here, I grew up believing that a root canal was the ultimate in torture. I’ve had two in the past five years and in both cases the fitting of the crown afterwards was way more unpleasant. I did go to an oral surgeon who specialized in such things (my regular dentist wouldn’t even think about doing one). In both cases I remember a three-step procedure: a topical followed by kind of a standard shot like you’d get for a filling. Once that numbed up he brought out the big needle and shot me up real good (but painlessly). As opposed to my vasectomy. Nurse gave me the numbing shot. The doctor came in very soon after and started to clamp things. I mentioned that it had only been a few minutes since the numbing shot, he said it was plenty of time. He made the first jab, I bit back a scream, my body went rigid, and everything tried to retract into my body. He said “let’s give it a few more minutes”, came back later and everything went fine from there. > [@TheTyrant](#): > > Again though–no pain. I just remember the tugging, and _oh dear god the sound_. That rending and tearing sound that just resonates through your entire skull was the worst haha. Four wisdom teeth pulled. The earth-shattering cracks (or at least they sounded earth shattering). And I seem to remember smoke (do they cauterize?). I had a little nitrous so I didn’t really care, but holy crap… ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2025, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-major-improvements-in-dental-anesthetics-in-the-past-few-decades/1016134/23 "2025-03-27T22:08:50Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > > [@N9IWP](#): > > > > Recently before injecting they applied a topical anesthetic – not sure if they did that in the past. > > I think that’s made a big difference. This. My dentist uses this and it pretty much removes the pain of the needle. Honestly, I can barely feel it. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2025, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-major-improvements-in-dental-anesthetics-in-the-past-few-decades/1016134/24 "2025-03-28T00:44:12Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > > [@Jackmannii](#): > > > > But it wasn’t bad at all, just that the procedure went on for a looong time. > > I was just talking to my brother about this and he complained that it took a long time too. My experience is it was pretty fast. What we guessed at was my brother’s dentist did his and I went to a guy who does nothing but root canals (that’s his whole practice). I was referred by my dentist to a specialist in root canal procedures. It went well and was relatively painless. I’m not complaining about the length of the procedure, but I recall it taking at least in the neighborhood of 45 minutes. Maybe I overestimated the length, as it does seem endless when they’re mucking around in there with everything in their tool chest. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2025, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-major-improvements-in-dental-anesthetics-in-the-past-few-decades/1016134/25 "2025-03-28T00:56:41Z")
My issue with my root canal wasn’t pain. There wasn’t any. But that was also the problem. My throat was numbed and the whole time I had to spend convincing myself that I could breathe because I couldn’t feel myself swallow and was convinced I was choking on my own saliva. How I managed to sit in silence without going into a full blown panic attack, I don’t know. It was frighteningly awful. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2025, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-major-improvements-in-dental-anesthetics-in-the-past-few-decades/1016134/26 "2025-03-28T01:25:51Z")
I recently ate some toffee. This simple act somehow managed to pull out an old filling which the dentist replaced. The dentist used a topical. A minute later, I couldn’t really feel the needle with the local. Then I could not feel the drill, but I could still feel a slightly unpleasant sensation when (I think) the suction was blowing air on to the tooth. Two things. The dentist told his assistant to prepare local, but “this did not need a nerve block”. I presume this meant the dentist was comfortable with nerve blocks, which we use in the ER and which do a much better job of anesthesia over a large area or for an involved procedure than just local. I’m not sure that many dentists were using a nerve block thirty years ago. This freezes all the area supplied by a given nerve. The other thing - after freezing the tooth, the dentist asked his assistant for the “bone extractor”. I didn’t feel anything, but thought this name too literal. I would have called it “the snuggler”, or “the fluffy”, or something that didn’t sound quite so intense. In the emergency room, they generally use one of three local anesthetics - lidocaine (xylocaine), bupivicaine (marcaine), or procaine (novocaine), These all take about five minutes to fully work, and last from roughly fifteen minutes to twelve hours depending on the dose, anesthetic and whether it also contains epinephrine, which constructs the veins so the freezing is not carried away as quickly. Maximum doses are generally not an issue in adult patients. All of these have been around for many years. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2025, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-major-improvements-in-dental-anesthetics-in-the-past-few-decades/1016134/27 "2025-03-28T02:17:37Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I thought that stuff was NEVER going to wear off. I had my procedure early in the day, and I looked like I had Bell’s palsy until well into the afternoon, and that was the worst part of it. Yeah, that’s my only real complaint about dental work. The anesthetic lasts way too long. > [@Broomstick](#): > > Can’t help but think having relaxed, calm, pain-free patients make the work environment much easier and more pleasant for _everyone_ involved. I had a really good pediatric dentist, and I’m incredibly grateful to him. Because of him, i have always been a relaxed, calm patient. Even when there’s a little pain. I do find that good dentists will discuss preferred levels of pain control with the patient. I generally prefer as little as they will do, because I’d rather get it over with and not be numb forever. But i also prefer that that be _my_ choice, and not imposed on me. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2025, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-major-improvements-in-dental-anesthetics-in-the-past-few-decades/1016134/28 "2025-03-28T03:33:15Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > I would have called it “the snuggler”, or “the fluffy”, or something that didn’t sound quite so intense The “comfy pillow” perhaps? That might be a soothing notion. Except for MP fans of course; they know what’s unexpectedly next. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2025, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-major-improvements-in-dental-anesthetics-in-the-past-few-decades/1016134/29 "2025-03-28T03:35:03Z")
Comfy chair? No one expects the Spanish Inquisition! ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2025, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-major-improvements-in-dental-anesthetics-in-the-past-few-decades/1016134/30 "2025-03-28T09:45:31Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > **Broomstick** Not legal to advertise “painless dentistry” in Texas. Good. Because I don’t think anyone can really _guarantee_ that to be absolutely always painless. Unless you’re using general anesthesia, which has a whole 'nother bucket of risks. Also, my experience of general anesthesia (unrelated to dentistry) is that you fell sort of poisoned for a couple days afterward. No thanks. Then again, I’m a weirdo that prefers local to general even during surgery where feasible. ---
**Author:** ![TheTyrant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thetyrant/32/19111_2.png) [@TheTyrant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheTyrant)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2025, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-major-improvements-in-dental-anesthetics-in-the-past-few-decades/1016134/31 "2025-03-28T13:25:32Z")
Yeah, honestly–I’ve never really been in pain during a dental procedure. The thing I’ve _always_ found most unpleasant is the accumulation of saliva and the little hook-vacuum’s utter failure to collect it. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2025, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-major-improvements-in-dental-anesthetics-in-the-past-few-decades/1016134/32 "2025-03-28T13:50:01Z")
Now imagine not even being able to feel that saliva. Unsettling is an understatement. I wonder if the endodontist accidentally let some numbing agent spill into my throat or he meant to do that. ---
**Author:** ![TheTyrant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thetyrant/32/19111_2.png) [@TheTyrant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheTyrant)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2025, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-major-improvements-in-dental-anesthetics-in-the-past-few-decades/1016134/33 "2025-03-28T14:06:56Z")
Damn the dentist made you waterboard yourself. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2025, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-major-improvements-in-dental-anesthetics-in-the-past-few-decades/1016134/34 "2025-03-28T21:16:20Z")
Oops. I got the comfy chair and the soft pillow mixed up and combined them. Not going to be a good session with the Inquisitors for me. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-major-improvements-in-dental-anesthetics-in-the-past-few-decades/1016134/35 "2025-03-31T02:46:53Z")
So I’m only middle aged but this is what I’ve noticed. I had a lot of dental work done about 20 years ago, around 2004 or so. A lot of times it would take 2 shots of novocaine (or whatever they use) to get me numb. It wasn’t uncommon for me to get one shot, then need a second shot because of the pain. I did have a root canal and crown done around 25 years ago. My recollection was that was painless. I had another root canal and crown done recently. Also painless, but 25 years ago it took 3 trips to the dentist to do that. Now it only takes 2. Also I’ve noticed I only need 1 shot of anesthetic when I’m having work done nowadays. I don’t get one shot, then need another because there is still pain. I don’t know if thats because the anesthetics have gotten better, or if it was just bad technique by the old dentist. ---
**Author:** ![sunacres](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@sunacres](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunacres)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-major-improvements-in-dental-anesthetics-in-the-past-few-decades/1016134/36 "2025-03-31T04:27:13Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Can’t help but think having relaxed, calm, pain-free patients make the work environment much easier and more pleasant for _everyone_ involved. About 25 years ago I quit my corporate job and became a massage therapist. One of my favorite gigs was working for an innovative local dentist giving patients foot massage while they were in the chair. We also had a massage room with a table for patients who wanted to get fully relaxed either before or sometimes after treatment. The dentist said it certainly resulted in a reduction in his use of pain meds, but more importantly patients were way more relaxed and easy to work with _for him_. I learned a lot, too. I didn’t realize how common it was for people to have more than ten toes! Full time massage was very taxing physically and I only lasted about five years before I decided to get a teaching credential and discover what really hard work is like. ---
**Author:** ![GailForce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dfb087/32.png) [@GailForce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GailForce)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-major-improvements-in-dental-anesthetics-in-the-past-few-decades/1016134/37 "2025-03-31T11:41:06Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > “Novocaine” is actually a brand of procaine, and has entered the language, like Kleenex has. Item #1 on my dentist’s list of instructions for post-procedure care: “1. Do not eat until novocaine wears off”. Sort of like, “Here, have a kleenex.” ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-major-improvements-in-dental-anesthetics-in-the-past-few-decades/1016134/38 "2025-04-02T02:37:00Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I do find that good dentists will discuss preferred levels of pain control with the patient. When young, I used to do meditation/self hypnosis for dental work. Then I had a really bad experience with meditation/self hypnosis, not related to dental work, and after than found that trying to do meditation/self hypnosis made me hyper-alert and full-on fight-or-flight. So it’s needles and numbness for me now. ---
**Author:** ![mglambo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@mglambo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mglambo)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-major-improvements-in-dental-anesthetics-in-the-past-few-decades/1016134/39 "2025-04-03T18:32:41Z")
I had a dentist in the 60’s who not only inflicted pain upon injecting but sometimes decided he needed to add torture to the mix by sometimes foregoing anesthetic completely. I cringe every time I watch Marathon Man. Modern dentistry is ALMOST painless ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-major-improvements-in-dental-anesthetics-in-the-past-few-decades/1016134/40 "2025-04-03T19:35:34Z")
Anyone else remember getting ether? (Sickly sweet and makes you vomit afterwards) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-major-improvements-in-dental-anesthetics-in-the-past-few-decades/1016134.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-there-been-major-improvements-in-dental-anesthetics-in-the-past-few-decades/1016134.md?page=3)