The injection of local anesthetic is perhaps the greatest source of patient fear and inability to obtain adequate pain control with minimal discomfort remains a significant concern of dental practitioners. While the injection of local anesthetic solutions to achieve anesthesia is one of the most commonly performed dental procedures, getting a patient to overcome their fear of the needle stick is often one of the biggest roadblocks for clinicians in their attempt to provide what is usually urgent treatment. The mere mention of the word ‘injection’ can cause most patients to conjure up such happenings such as this as they shrink back in defiance and revert to constant head nods of “NO!”
So, with the ‘fear of the needle’ being such a major issue, researchers have sought out new and better means of managing the pain with newer technologies being developed that can assist the dentist in providing enhanced pain relief with reduced injection pain and fewer adverse effects.
Wave the Wand to Keep Pain Away
THE WAND local anesthetic delivery system, from WandDental, allows clinicians to anesthetize any single tooth in the mouth for any operative procedure needed to be performed. This is accomplished by simply holding a handle containing a small needle against the neck of the tooth. Upon completion of the application of the anesthetic, you can go to work. No waiting – a great time saver. The placement of the anesthetic is completely painless, the tooth is totally anesthetized (no more missed mandibular injections) and you can go to work immediately.
Why Inject When You Can Spray?
Spraying anesthesia into the nose instead of using a needle to inject it into the mouth could make the trip to the dentist’s office a little less painful. A recent study published in the Journal of Dental Research looked at the effectiveness, safety, and tolerability of nasal anesthesia spray to produce numbness of maxillary teeth (the upper teeth).
One such product, KOVANAZE by St. Renatus, is indicated for regional anesthesia when performing a restorative procedure on teeth Nos. 4 to 13 and A-J in adults and children who weigh 40 kg or more. KOVANAZE provides regional anesthesia with 96% efficacy in teeth Nos. 5 to 12, 64% in Nos. 4 and No. 13, therefore offers a needle-free alternative to the majority of anterior maxillary injections.
Smaller is Better and Micro is Best
Spray anesthesia is not the only new modality for anesthesia on the horizon. Since smaller is better, especially when it comes to dental injections, researchers from Brazil and Texas have started testing a new strategy on humans to increase the effectiveness of topical anesthesia used in dentistry, used by dentists to reduce patient discomfort during the application of injected anesthesia - required for more invasive procedures such as fillings, tooth extraction or surgery. It involves a small device that contains 57 microneedles, which, when placed on the gums, cheek or other location of the mouth to be anesthetized, makes tiny holes through which anesthetic substances like lidocaine can penetrate deeper into regions of the oral mucosa. The method had already been tested on 10 patients in a preliminary test and was well-tolerated.
Visit our injectable anesthetics category to get the most up to date product information.