• Journal of The Korean Dental Society of Anesthesiology
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.71-79
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• 2013

Local pain management is the most critical aspect of patient care in dentistry. Local anesthesia is a reversible blockade of nerve conduction in an applied area that produces loss of sensation. The chemical agents used to produce local anesthesia stabilize neuronal membranes by inhibiting the ionic fluxes required for the propagation of neural impulses. Proper local anesthesia permits the dental surgeon to perform the necessary surgical procedure in a careful, gentle fashion that will be less stressful for both the operator and the patient. The improvements in agents for local anesthesia are probably the most significant advances that have occurred in dental science. Today's anesthetics are safe, effective, and can be administered with insignificant soft tissue damage and minimal concerns for allergic reactions. This article reviews the widely used local anesthetic agents for obtaining local anesthesia, and also discusses some frequently seen complications.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.55-61
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• 2020

During dental treatment, a dentist usually applies the local anesthesia. Therefore, all dentists should have expertise in local anesthesia and anesthetics. Local anesthetics have a neurotoxic effect at clinically relevant concentrations. Many studies have investigated the mechanism of neurotoxicity of local anesthetics but the precise mechanism of local anesthetic-induced neurotoxicity is still unclear. In addition, it is difficult to demonstrate the direct neurotoxic effect of local anesthetics because perioperative nerve damage is influenced by various factors, such as the anesthetic, the patient, and surgical risk factors. This review summarizes knowledge about the pharmacology of local anesthetics, nerve anatomy, and the incidence, risk factors, and possible cellular mechanisms of local anesthetic-induced neurotoxicity.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.319-332
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• 2018

The objective of this review was to investigate the efficacy of dental local anesthetics, as it is well known among clinicians that local anesthesia may be challenging in some circumstances. Therefore, the focus of this review was on the efficacy of the products used in dental local anesthesia. In a Pubmed database literature search conducted, a total of 8646 articles were found to be related to dental local anesthetics. After having applied the inclusion criteria (human research, performed in the last 10 years, written in English language, and focus on dental local anesthetics) and having assessed the quality of the papers, 30 were deemed eligible for inclusion in this review. The conclusion of this review is that none of the dental local anesthetic amides provide 100% anesthesia. The problem appears to be more pronounced when mandibular teeth are attempted to be anaesthetized and especially if there is irreversible pulpitis involved. The authors conclude that this finding suggest exploration of more efficient techniques to administer dental local anesthesia, especially in the mandible, to establish a 100% efficacy, is needed.

• The Journal of the Korean dental association
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.58-65
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• 2018

Dental local anesthesia is important procedure for the elimination of pain during dental treatment. However, the pain during local anesthesia is one of the main source of fear to the patients. The cause of pain during dental local anesthesia includes soft tissue damage during penetration of the oral mucosa, pressure from the spread of the anesthetic solution, temperature of anesthetic solution, low pH of anesthetic solution, and the characteristics of the drug. Several concepts and devices introduced to date to reduce the pain during local anesthesia for dental treatment. In this report, devices that can reduce the pain during local anesthesia will be discussed.

• The Journal of the Korean dental association
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.49-57
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• 2018

The most widely used method of pain control in dental practice is to block the pathway of painful impulses by local anesthesia. For a maximum effect of pain control at outpatient minor operation, regional anesthesia including nerve block must be performed. This issue includes various dental local anesthetic techniques on mandible, maxilla and considerations for selection of dental local anesthetics according to patient's age, duration of operation. Additionally, current conscious sedation technique combined with local anesthesia will be introduced for control of patient's anxiousness. Based on patient's general condition, severity of operation, local anesthesia sometimes must be changed into general anesthesia to avoid failure of dental practice. The exact choice of anesthetic techniques for minor operations at dental outpatient clinic must not be underestimated for complete success of pain control.

• Journal of The Korean Dental Society of Anesthesiology
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.89-94
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• 2014

Local anesthesia known as the safe and essential procedure to control pain in dentistry may cause sensory changes such as paresthesia or altered taste at the affected sites after even successful local anesthesia. Although the prognosis of the nerve injuries after local anesthesia is favorable, it might cause prolonged problems such as dysesthesia. The lingual nerve is a single fascicle at the level of the lingual among 1/3 of patients and more movable during regeneration compared to the inferior alveolar nerve after the injury. As a result, the lingual nerve is more vulnerable and has poorer outcomes. More vigilant clinical considerations are required to the lingual nerve injury after local anesthesia. Generally, more than 80% of cases are spontaneously resolved within 2 weeks after the local anesthesia even without any specific treatment. However, the patient having long lasting abnormal sensations more than 2 weeks needs specialists' care for further assessment. In case of dysesthesia which is a symptom of neuropathic pain, immediate referral to specialists is mandatory. The exact mechanism, how to prevent its occurrence, or specific treatments of the nerve injury related to the local anesthesia have not been elucidated. To prepare clinical or medicolegal problems, many cautious considerations are given to the patients who complain sensory changes after local anesthesia.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.187-194
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• 2020

Background: The aim of the present systematic review was to evaluate and compare the efficacy of warmed and unwarmed local anesthesia solutions in reduction of pain during intraoral injection administration. Methods: PubMed, Ovid SP, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched from publication years 1990 to 2020 with relevant MeSH terms. Studies were screened by titles and abstracts, followed by full-texts evaluation of the included studies. Results: A total of four studies were included in the systematic review. Outcomes evaluated were subjective and objective pain during administration of the warmed local anesthesia solution in comparison with the unwarmed local anesthesia solution. Among the four studies that evaluated the self-reported pain score, three studies showed significantly lower pain scores associated with warmed local anesthesia. Only two studies evaluated the observed pain score, and both of them reported a significantly lower pain reaction with the warmed local anesthesia solution. Conclusion: Within the limits of this systematic review, warming the local anesthesia solution to body temperature (37℃) before administration seemed to reduce the discomfort during intraoral local anaesthesia administration, and more high-quality studies should be carried out to validate the same.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.297-299
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• 2024

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.197-204
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• 2022

Background: Injections are one of the most fear-provoking stimuli in dentistry. Painless administration of an injection is a vital step in alleviating anxiety, which in turn leads to good behavior in children. The aim is to evaluate and compare anxiety levels and pain perception using conventional, insulin, and deception syringes during the administration of local anesthesia in children. Methods: Forty-five children aged 6-12 were selected using a standard sample size formula and equally divided into three groups. Local anesthesia was administered using a conventional syringe to Group A participants and an insulin syringe for Group B participants. Group C participants were administered local anesthesia using a deception syringe by showing the patient disposable obturation tips, and eventually a conventional syringe was used for administration of local anesthesia after hiding them from the patient. Anxiety levels were assessed using Venham's Picture Scale and pulse rate at baseline and after administration of local anesthesia. The Wong-Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale was used to assess pain perception after the administration of local anesthesia. Results: Insulin and deception syringes showed better reduction in anxiety levels and pain perception than conventional syringes, demonstrating a high statistically significant difference. Conclusion: The use of insulin and deception syringes for administration of anesthesia was demonstrated to be effective in alleviating anxiety in children and is therefore recommended as an alternative to conventional syringes.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.143-149
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• 2019

Background: Uncooperative behavior of children due to dental anxiety may interfere with the effective delivery of dental care and compromise the quality of treatment provided. Injection of local anesthesia is one of the most anxiety-inducing stimuli in pediatric dentistry. This study aimed to compare the efficacy of a child-friendly device, having a combined effect of vibration and distraction, with the conventional method of injection on pain, anxiety, and behavior of pediatric patients aged 6-11 years. Methods: This randomized, crossover, split-mouth study included 30 children requiring a bilateral inferior alveolar nerve block. The children were equally divided into two groups: group 1, aged 6-8 and group 2, aged 9-11 years. All children were injected with anesthesia using the conventional and device method in two separate sessions. They were assessed for anxiety by measuring the pulse rate before and during the administration of local anesthesia. Behavior was assessed using Faces, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability (FLACC) scale, and the child's experience while receiving anesthesia was assessed using the Wong Bakers Pain Rating Scale. Results: Results showed that the children who received local anesthesia using the device method had a lower mean pulse rate, FLACC scores, and pain rating scores than those who received local anesthesia using the conventional method. Conclusion: The device method was more effective than the conventional method in managing pain, anxiety, and behavior of patients aged 6-11 years. The device is a cost effective, simple, and child-friendly product for administrating local anesthesia in pediatric patients.