Welcoming “DentalVibe” to our office

The worst part of going to the dentist just got a whole lot better…

What do you hate the most about going to the dentist? I bet, if you are like most people, you hate the ’needle’ more than anything else. In fact, you would be amazed at the number of people who have their dentistry done without any anesthetic at all, just to avoid the ‘shot’. It may also surprise you that the worst part of my job is giving you the needle. After all, when you’re upset it upsets me too. So I am always on the look-out for new ways to make the experience better for the both of us.

At the Pacific Dental Conference in Vancouver I came across a new product called ‘DentalVibe’. If you have ever been to a large trade show you know trade shows can be full of ‘stuff’ and most of this stuff isn’t worth the money. Anyway, I decided to take a chance on DentalVibe because it promised to help reduce (or eliminate) the pain from an injection. Anything that promises to help reduce the pain for you and the stress for me has my attention. It wasn’t particularly expensive technology, so I thought it was worth a try.

I’m happy to report that after using the DentalVibe for the past few months it is working very well. Most patients are reporting that getting frozen was much more comfortable than usual and some patients didn’t know that they were being injected at all.

The DentalVibe emits a gentle pulsing vibration at the injection site. The pulse and the vibration activate what is called the ‘gate control’ theory of pain. In simple terms the brain spends its energy focusing on the vibration and ignores the pain of the needle.

I’m excited that I now have a product that really works at reducing the pain of a dental injection. So the next time you need dental work, remember that I have a new technology that will make your visit a lot better. Just don’t ask for the ‘vibrator’, we prefer to call it the ‘shaker’.