You might be scared to go to the dentist. Some people are. Coming up we’ll look at a new tool that can take some of that anxiety out of the experience. Time now 6:51, Dr. Stephen Goldberg joins us this morning to talk about his invention to make going to the dentist less painful. Good morning, doctor. Thank you for being here. Good morning, Karen. Then now I understand that your system is called a dental injection system. Tell me all about this.
Absolutely. What this is is a revolutionary new device. It’s actually called DentalVibe injection comfort system. And what that allows a dentist to do is to deliver a comfortable injection. So you no longer have to fear going to the dentist. Basically what happens is that dentists will take this device, turn it on and give you a buzzing sound. It’s got a light on the end. The dentist will place it in the patient’s mouth like this under the lip. And then when the injection is administered here, all the patient feels is the vibration and they will no longer feel the pain of the injection.
You know, when I go to the dentist, they use sort of a topical, um, something to sort of numb it. How is that different? Because really you don’t feel the injection after they put that topical anesthetic on it.
Well, I’ll certainly explain when you get an injection, there are really two points that actually caused the pain. One is when the needle is picking the tissue inside, the other is as the solution of anesthetic is being delivered underneath the tissue. It’s that swelling and pressure feeling that we don’t like, well, the topical anesthetic will help with that initial perk of the needle, but it’s as you’re injecting in that solution, swelling up, that’s why DentalVibe is so important. It’s actually,
This is why we have anxiety
The reality is, is that somewhat of a myth technology has come so far these days. Are you still seeing a lot of dental anxiety?
Absolutely. As a matter of fact, the research shows that one out of every two Americans avoid going to the dentist strictly because of anxiety on pain.
And what are your recommendations for folks who are facing anxiety before they get into the dental office?
Well, there, there are. Well, first of all, once the use of DentalVibe is available through all the dentists. We just launching the product right now, that fear will really be gone. They will realize that the fear of the pain is no longer there because once you’re numb, you don’t feel anything anyway. But the problem is the act of getting numb. That’s what hurts. You know, I’m a dentist for 22 years. I’m also a patient. I don’t like the feeling of an injection. I know how that feels. I don’t like that feeling. It actually hurts. If that pain is taken away, the fear of going to the dentist is a thing of the past. And actually, DentalVibe injection comfort system is really changing the perception, right?
How can patients be ensured that it’s safe?
Well, it’s simply this it’s just a vibrator. is simply vibrates. The area. Once it’s placed in the mouth, all it’s doing is vibrating. If you remember the old method of getting an injection with a dentist would shake the lift like this while your needs. That’s where this really began to develop, but we took it one step further. We, we brought in science and the true science has to do with the gate control theory of pain, which actually was developed back in 1965 by Dr. Ronald Melzack. And what actually happens is we found that vibration travels to the brain much faster than the sensation of pain. So it actually travels 37 and a half times faster. So if, for instance, if you were to bump your arm, the first thing you do is rub it. And the reason you’re rubbing it as that sensation of touch of vibration travels. So if that’s the brain, you don’t feel the pain of the bump. That’s really the principle that this works on. So it’s really just a soothing pulsed vibration that stimulates the area while you’re giving the injection. That’s all there is to it.
Well, we wish you the best of luck and we hope we’ve created a little less anxiety for patients. For more information on Dr. Goldberg, head to our website, CBS twelve.com, and click on links. Thank you, doctor, back in a moment.
