Do redheads need more anesthesia during dental procedures?
The Cleveland Clinic says experts have long suspected that people with red hair need more anesthetic drugs to get the same results as people with other hair colors.
The same gene that gives someone red hair may also lower their pain tolerance, some researchers posit.
“Red hair is the only physical characteristic that indicates how much anesthetic a person needs,” says anesthesia researcher Daniel Sessler, M.D. "Redheads report more pain during procedures. Some studies also show that people with red hair are more resistant to local anesthetics. And they may need more general anesthesia to keep them sleeping during medical procedures."
The article notes most of the research on this topic is older and limited — because fewer than 2% of people worldwide have naturally red hair.
Read more: The Cleveland Clinic
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