Few people would say that they really, really look forward to going to the dentist. In fact, millions of Americans admit to being afraid of going to the dentist, the study by the University of Washington dental school suggests as many as 20 million Americans just refuse to go because of that fear. But now Rick Dayton shows us how a new device is easing the pain.
The first question that a parent asks me before anything is, will he or she needed a shot.
The question’s been around almost as long as there have been dentists and fear is greatest in kids and teens.
I always have a feeling that I’m going to like have a cavity and I’m always going to have to, you know, get that Novacane so I can get it drilled. I really get nervous. Cause you know, I don’t know. I don’t really like shots. If you have a child who loses it during the injection, it’s really set the stage for the entire appointment. And again, school-age children don’t have really good coping skills and adolescents are very emotional.
Dr. Jane Soxman tried the DentalVibe, an instrument that looks and sounds a lot like an electric toothbrush with a special tip.
We will place the DentalVibe on the tissue and the vibration goes for maybe 10 to 15 seconds. So they become accustomed to that sensation. And then we will inject into the tissue slowly for about 30 to 60 seconds.
The DentalVibe works on the gate theory that vibrations created by the instrument travel faster than pain.
The pulsation and the vibration actually overrides that sensation to the brain. The vibration goes faster. The nerve impulse is carried faster. So this one is actually blocked.
Dr. Soxman used the dental vibe on three young patients starting with Caitlin a high school. Sophomore.
Yeah. So how was that for you? No, that wasn’t bad at all. I didn’t feel it. Did you feel anything? No. The vibration. Yeah.
Next patient Riley. A nine-year-old third grader.
Tilt to your little chin up. Thank you, sweetheart. It’s just put this right beside your tooth.
How did the DentalVibe do?
That? Okay. Yeah, that was it. My darling. You just had a shot. Okay.
It was a perfect three for three, including a six-year-old considering it cost her practice a few hundred dollars Soxman says, this is a no brainer.
I don’t want to hurt anybody. So this has given me the opportunity for those patients to give them the local anesthesia. They’ll accept it.
It works so well for Riley. She wasn’t sure the doctor did anything. Did you?
Um, I don’t know. Once I heard about it, what it did, it was kind of, you know, it kind of eased my nerves a little bit and then once they did it, you know, I didn’t feel things. So it was pretty simple. Avoiding the pain because it’s faster it’s smoother.
It’s just better for everybody. While easing patients’ fears safe to say the DentalVibe has dentists buzzing. Rick Dayton, Katie K TV news.
That’s pretty impressive. Now, Dr. Soxman is a pediatric dentist. So she practices on kids. However, there is an adult version of the dental vibe. It works the exact same way. The only difference is that the rubber tip for adults is slightly larger.
