Do I need a shot for fillings?

This is a frequent question and the answer is; not for all fillings. Although I do administer local anesthesia for many types of dental procedures, I have found that it is not usually neccessary when fixing a small cavity. For fixing small cavities, I use a very small dental bur (half round drill bit-diameter .5 mm) and I use very light hand pressure on the drill. I theorize that fewer nerve processes are stimulated during cavity preparation with a tiny bur, so that the patient experience less pain. Using a tiny bur with light hand pressure may lengthen the amount of time I spend preparing the cavity, but it definitely induces less discomfort.

A benefit of not administering a local anesthesia shot is that over all I find the time a patient spends in the chair is less, since we do not have to wait for the shot to 'take effect'. Of course if the patient does desire a local anesthesia, I able to comply at anytime during the procedure, to insure that the patient has a positive dental experience.