The History of Anesthesia
Although dentistry of some sort has been around since the days of primitive humans, painless dentistry was not available until less than 200 years ago. In the beginning, humans removed teeth with a strategically placed chisel and the whack of a good hammer. During the high times of the Greek and Roman empires, the chisel and mallet technique was abandoned in favor of forceps.
Unfortunately these forceps still did not make dentistry pain free. In 1790, a British chemist started experimenting with nitrous oxide, a chemical known to inhibit pain. He also observed the chemical's famous side effect thereby giving it the nickname "laughing gas". Around 1830, nitrous oxide was mixed with oxygen and became a staple for dental surgeries.
Local anesthetic took a little longer to be created, not really coming into use until the 1900s. The first local anesthetic was actually cocaine but after it's addictive properties were discovered, it was abandoned. Chemists attempted to create a synthetic cocaine but none were successful until 1905 when a German chemist created procaine. He named the drug Novocain which became extremely popular in the dental profession as well as assured patients a pain-free dental experience.
Source: http://www.knowyourteeth.com/infobites/abc/article/?abc=h&iid=305&aid=1256
R. Eric Emery, DDS
Smile Station Dental
2901 Doughery Ferry Rd, Suite 400
St. Louis, MO 63122
(314)821-7100
smilestationdental.com
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