Sedation Dentistry and Pain-Free Dentistry Success Stories

Joseph Priestley

The gas nitrous oxide was first synthesized by English chemist and natural philosopher Joseph Priestley in 1775, who called it phlogisticated nitrous air.

Priestley describes the preparation of "nitrous air diminished" by heating iron filings dampened with nitric acid in Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air, (1775). Priestley was delighted with his discovery: "I have now discovered an air five or six times as good as common air... nothing I ever did has surprised me more, or is more satisfactory." - source Wikipedia.

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Humphry Davy

Sir Humphry Davy in the 1790s tested nitrous oxide gas on himself and some of his friends, including the poets Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey.

They soon realized that nitrous oxide considerably dulled the sensation of pain, even if the inhaler were still semi-conscious. A precursor to today's sedation dentistry technique

Sir Humphry revelled in his status, as his lectures gathered many spectators. Davy became well known due to his experiments with the physiological action of some gases, including laughing gas (nitrous oxide) - to which he was addicted, once stating that its properties bestowed all of the benefits of alcohol but was devoid of its flaws. - source Wikipedia.

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Gardner Quincy Colton

After nitrous oxide gas was publicized extensively by Gardner Quincy Colton in the United States in the 1840s, it came into use as an anaesthetic, particularly by dentists, who do not typically have access to the services of an anesthesiologist and who may benefit from a patient who can respond to verbal commands.

After making $535 from his first public demonstration of nitrous oxide, Colton left medical school to travel the country giving lectures and presentations.

On December 10, 1844, he gave a performance in Hartford, Connecticut, at which one of his audience volunteers injured his leg, but did not feel the pain because of the effects of the gas.

Connecticut dentist Horace Wells was in attendance, realized the possibilities of using nitrous oxide in dental surgery, and obtained a supply of the gas from Colton.

In 1849, Gardner Colton went to California, where his brother Walter Colton was alcalde of Monterey, to join the California Gold Rush. He was unsuccessful in finding gold, and Colton returned to the East. In partnership with two dentists, Colton set up the Colton Dental Association, which promoted the use of nitrous oxide in dental procedures and became a thriving business.

Between 1864 and 1897, Colton and his associates used nitrous oxide in tens of thousands of tooth extractions. - source Wikipedia.

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