by LID Admin | Jun 4, 2013 | Dental Emergency, Dr Davies says...., General Dental Care
Pain Relief and Dental Treatment: Advice from Dr Davies With modern analgesia and new dental technologies, pain following dental procedures is largely a thing of the past. But some procedures are more complex than others and people have different tolerances to pain, so what should you do if you need pain relief? As any medication has side effects the fewer medications taken the better. Fortunately side effects are very rare with analgesics (pain killers) but nevertheless they do exist. The following protocol has proved to be extremely effective in controlling pain of a dental origin. Just remember though, if you are allergic to any of these medications do not take them. For mild pain Dr Davies recommends Ibuprofen ( for example Nurofen) 250 mg 1-2 tablets three times a day. Obviously you cannot take Ibuprofen if you are allergic to it. You should also avoid Ibuprofen if you have a gastric or duodenal ulcer. Substitute 1-2 250mg tablets of Paracetamol instead. If this does not provide relief you can take Ibuprofen 250 mg 1-2 tablets plus Paracetamol 250 mg (for example Panadol) 1-2 tablets three times a day. For more severe pain Dr Davies recommends Ibuprofen 250 mg 1-2 tablets plus 1 tablet of Paracetamol 500 mg + 30 mg Codeine (for example Panadeine Forte) three times a day. A word of warning, Panadeine contains codeine so do not take it if you are allergic to codeine. As Panadeine Forte is a prescription only medication, it will need to be prescribed for you by your dentist or doctor. Analgesics should only be taken when required. If there is no...
by LID Admin | Mar 27, 2013 | Dental Anxiety, Dr Davies says....
The use of hypnosis can be, and usually is, extremely effective in the alleviation of many kinds of anxieties and phobias including those of dental origin. What is it like and how does it work? Being in hypnosis results in a very calm and relaxed state of mind and body. Initially the aim is for bodily relaxation and as this is achieved there is a concurrent relaxation of the mind. When the mind is relaxed it is not overwhelmed by worries which would ordinarily prevent it from functioning properly, for example, one is able to focus clearly on pleasing imagery such as being at the beach, bushwalking, attending a play at the theatre and so on. In fact under hypnosis one is able, with very little effort, to so intensely focus on such situations that other experiences and sensations (even dentistry) become far removed from one’s awareness. This has been described as being similar to seeing a play when you are so intensely focused on the central characters that you become unaware of what may be happening at the periphery of the stage. In other words you become dissociated from your current experiences. As you may think such focusing of the mind does require a certain degree of effort. As a result and contrary to popular belief weak-willed people make poor hypnotic subjects on account of their inability to focus the mind. The best hypnotic subjects are intelligent people who are not easily distracted. Hypnosis can be used in dentistry to relieve pain and stop bleeding but its chief use in dentistry is to relieve dental anxiety...
