There are a lot of reasons why people get scared of going to the dentist, but one of the things that can bring about the most nervousness for some people is getting shots in their mouth. It is fairly common for a fear of needles to get in the way of being comfortable with certain medical procedures. However, the more you understand about why the dentist gives you shots, the more comfortable you will likely be when you are seated for your appointment, and you see the dentist start preparing a needle for an injection. 

Why do you have to get shots in your mouth when you go for dental treatment?

Shots are given to you in your mouth to administer a form of local anesthetic that numbs the nerves in the area where work is being done. You may not always have to get shots when you go to the dentist for treatment, but shots are a normal procedure that can be a part of many different types of dental procedures. You may have to get shots in your mouth if: 

• You are having a tooth extracted
• You are having a cavity filled
• You are having a crown placed
• Your teeth are especially sensitive to cleaning

You may have the option to opt out of getting shots before treatment, but doing so would make some procedures almost unbearable. 

How painful are the numbing shots the dentist gives you?

Getting a shot when you go in for dental treatment is probably not going to be as painful as you may expect. If you have a fear of needles, it is the pain of the needle slipping into the skin that you fear the most, but in dentistry, this pain tends to be more minimal than usual. Most dentists will apply a topical numbing agent to your gums just before they give you a shot. This greatly helps reduce what you feel when the needle breaks through the skin.

Is it true you may have to get more than one shot of local anesthetic?

Dentists may indeed give you multiple shots of local anesthetic before they do work in your mouth. You may be given a shot close to or near the nerves around the root of a bad tooth, you may be given a shot in the soft pallet at the top of your mouth, and you may be given a shot in the soft tissue surrounding your gums. The goal with all these shots is to numb all surrounding nerves so the dentist can work without causing you pain.

For more information, contact a company like Apollo Dental Center.