Gag Reflex in Dental Practice - Etiological Aspects

Many dental practitioners are faced with patients presenting gag reflex, a phenomenon that appears quite commonly during prosthetic or dental treatment. Consequently, any therapeutic procedure becomes extremely annoying, both for the dentist who is unable to perform quality work, and for the patient who is unable to overcome the sensation, thus rendering the medical act difficult, even impossible. What is the gag reflex? Nausea, derived from the Latin nausea (i.e., sea sickness), manifests itself through an unpleasant feeling that precedes the sensation of vomiting. It is a subjective sensation originating at the cortical level. More exactly, the gag reflex is an inborn reflex meant to protect the upper respiratory tract and the digestive tract against anything that might obstruct them. However, it can also be an acquired reflex, conditioned by various stimuli: visual, olfactory, GAG REFLEX IN DENTAL PRACTICE ETIOLOGICAL ASPECTS