Dentist eases dental pain with push of button

If the thought of a dentist’s drill makes your nervous, you aren’t alone. Studies show as many as 85 percent of adults have some kind of dental anxiety. But calming your nerves may be as easy as the touch of a button.

As he got settled in the dentist’s chair for his first-ever root canal, Jamie Chavez admitted he had reservations about it.

“I am a little nervous,“ he said. “But it’s the first time I’ve had a root canal procedure so there’s a little bit of anxiety there.“

Dentists say dental anxiety often keeps people like Chavez from getting the dental care they need. But a new instrument called the Dental Button gives them a weapon to ease their fear. The handheld device allows patients to stop the power to the dentist’s drill at any time during their procedure.

“It’s hooked up to the air supply,“ said Dr. Charles Ferzli, of Smiles of Cary. “And when the handpiece is activated and I am actually drilling, once you press a button, it just shuts off the air supply to the handpiece and stops it from working.“

Even with anesthetics and sedation, the drill can sometimes hit sensitive nerves, so most dentists are accustomed to stopping several times during a procedure to ask patients how they are feeling. With the button, said Ferzli, he lets the patient decide.

“It’s a great thing because it helps alleviate a lot of stress and anxiety, which tends to heighten the pain response,“ he said.

Ferzli admitted he was nervous that giving patients control would slow down procedures, but he’s found that most patients don’t even press the button. Just knowing they have the option appears to be enough.
“They find it to be very comforting to have,“ he said.

In a year-long trial of the technology, dentists saw a 50 percent reduction in procedure stopping compared with having patients signal for the dentist to stop, allowing dentists to stay more focused through the procedure.

The majority of patients who’ve used the Dental Button say they would definitely use it again. Count Jamie Chavez among them.

“It makes me feel secure,“ he said. “Very secure.“