Last night, after complaining about my lack of intrinsic motivation to study, I was determined to read about the most dental-relevant topic in pharmacology: local anesthetics. I think my quiet prayers to get quickly fascinated by what we are learning were heard, because I learned at least 5 fun new things from this chapter, and enjoyed nearly every minute of it:
1. Pain is incredibly protective, and it seems strange how strongly humans avoid this important security-system mechanism. It’s really just your body screaming, “TISSUE DAMAGE ALERT! STOP NOW or SEEK HELP!”. My thickly-calloused big toes are so smart - good luck hurting those bad boys. Thoroughly protected; never ouchy.
2. Inevitably, this idea sparked a meandering set of “i-wonder-if” questions about whether there exists a utility of emotional pain, analogous to the warning-system of physical pain. Should we respond to heartache with the same aversion as we do physical pain? Is that even possible?
3. I can now say that I have a high nociceptor threshold. Or, at least I can say that until I give birth one day and realize that having lots of ear-piercings doesn’t count as acquired pain tolerance.
4. Cocaine is apparently the only naturally occurring local anesthetic. Really?! Given all the weird venoms, slimes, and mind-warping compounds that have evolved in the natural world, not a single other animal or plant came up with that same defensive strategy? I don’t buy it. Something else must be out there.
5. Without our current synthetic cocaine-esque derivatives, modern dentistry would not exist. Thank you, early coca-shrub enthusiasts and purifiers!
