• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.65-69
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• 2018

Local anesthesia is administered to control pain, but it may induce fear and anxiety. Root planing is a non-surgical periodontal therapy; however, when it is performed in an extensive manner, some tissue removal is inevitable. Notably, this removal may be so painful that local anesthesia is required to be administered to the area scheduled for the treatment. Although patients tend to accept root planing easily, they frequently express a fear of local anesthesia. Intraosseous anesthesia (IA) is an intraosseous injection technique, whereby local anesthetic is injected into the cancellous bone supporting the teeth. A computer-controlled IA system (CIAS) exhibits multiple benefits, such as less painful anesthesia, reduced soft tissue numbness, and the provision of palatal or lingual, as well as buccal, anesthesia via single needle penetration. In this report, we present two cases of root planing that were performed under local anesthesia, using a CIAS.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.101-108
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• 2024

Background: Administering anesthesia in dentistry can be distressing for patients, especially those with dental fear and anxiety. Needle pain during local anesthesia is a common concern in intraoral procedures. This study aimed to compare pain perception in 4-6-year-old children following intraoral dental injections with 26- and 31-gauge needles. Methods: Fifty healthy children were divided according to age into Group I (N = 25; 4-5 years) and Group II (N = 25; 5-6 years). Each group was further subdivided according to the needle gauge as follows: Group IA (26 gauge), Group IB (31 gauge), Group IIA (26 gauge), and Group IIB (31 gauge). Using a lottery method, the gauge of the needle to be used at the first visit for local anesthesia administration was selected. Children's reactions to pain were evaluated using a Modified Behavioral Pain Scale. Immediately after administration of local anesthesia, pain perception was evaluated using the Faces pain rating scale. In the subsequent visit, another needle gauge was used to administer local anesthesia, and the previously described evaluations were performed. At the third appointment, the child was shown both syringes and asked to choose one of the syringes they preferred, and the choice was noted. Results: When local anesthesia was administered using a 31-gauge needle, pain perception was similar between the two groups. In group II, the children demonstrated significantly higher arm and leg movements (P = 0.001). However, the difference was significant in group I alone (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Irrespective of age, anesthesia with a 31-gauge needle resulted in significantly lower pain perception than anesthesia with a 26-gauge needle.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.209-212
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• 2016

Lidocaine, a local anesthetic commonly used in dental treatments, is capable of causing allergies or adverse effects similar to allergic reactions. However, the frequency of such occurrences in actual clinical settings is very rare, and even clinical tests on patients with known allergies to local anesthetics may often show negative results. When adverse effects, such as allergy to lidocaine, are involved, patients can be treated by testing other local anesthetics and choosing a local anesthetic without any adverse effects, or by performing dental treatment under general anesthesia in cases in which no local anesthetic without adverse effects is available. Along with a literature review, the authors of the present study report on two cases of patients who tested positive on allergy skin tests for lidocaine and bupivacaine and subsequently underwent successful dental treatments with either general anesthesia or a different local anesthetic.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.79-88
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• 2018

Managing pain and anxiety in patients has always been an essential part of dentistry. To prevent pain, dentists administer local anaesthesia (LA) via a needle injection. Unfortunately, anxiety and fear that arise prior to and/or during injection remains a barrier for many children and adults from receiving dental treatment. There is a constant search for techniques to alleviate the invasive and painful nature of the needle injection. In recent years, researchers have developed alternative methods which enable dental anaesthesia to be less invasive and more patient-friendly. The aim of this review is to highlight the procedures and devices available which may replace the conventional needle-administered local anaesthesia. The most known alternative methods in providing anaesthesia in dentistry are: topical anaesthesia, electronic dental anaesthesia, jet-injectors, iontophoresis, and computerized control local anaesthesia delivery systems. Even though these procedures are well accepted by patients to date, it is the authors' opinion that the effectiveness practicality of such techniques in general dentistry is not without limitations.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.229-236
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• 2023

Background: Local anesthesia has been reliably used to control pain during dental procedures and is important in pediatric dentistry. However, children occasionally complain of prolonged numbness after dental treatment, leading to several problems. Studies conducted to reverse the effect of local anesthesia using phentolamine mesylate and photobiomodulation therapy (PBM) are encouraging but limited. PBM is a type of light therapy that utilizes visible and near-infrared non-ionizing electromagnetic spectral light sources. Hence, this study used this modality to compare the reversal of local anesthesia at two different wavelengths. This study compared the effect of PBM at 660 and 810 nm wavelengths on the reversal of soft tissue local anesthesia using a diode LASER in pediatric dentistry. Method: Informed consent and assent were obtained, and the participants were then divided randomly into three groups of 20 children each: control group-without LASER irradiation, LASER irradiation at 660 nm, and LASER irradiation at 810 nm. Sixty children aged 4-8 years with deciduous mandibular molars indicated for pulp therapy were administered an inferior alveolar nerve block. After 45 min of injection, a duration that was similar to the approximate duration of treatment, they were exposed to 660- and 810-nm LASER irradiation according to their groups until reversal of local anesthesia was achieved. The control group did not undergo LASER irradiation. The reversal of the soft tissue local anesthetic effect was evaluated using palpation and pin prick tests every 15 min, and the LASER irradiation cycle continued until reversal of the soft tissue local anesthesia was achieved. Results: A significant reduction of 55.5 min (27.6%) in the mean soft tissue local anesthesia reversal time was observed after the application of 810 nm wavelength PBM and 69 min (34.7%) after 660 nm wavelength LASER irradiation. Conclusion: PBM with a 660 nm wavelength was more effective in reducing the mean soft tissue local anesthesia reversal duration, and thus can be used as a reversal agent for soft tissue local anesthesia in pediatric dentistry.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.113-118
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• 2021

Background: Consumers and patients in the last two decades have increasingly turned to various internet search engines including Google for information. Google Trends records searches done using the Google search engine. Google Trends is free and provides data on search terms and related queries. One recent study found a large public interest in "dental anesthesia". In this paper, we further explore this interest in "dental anesthesia" and assess if any patterns emerge. Methods: In this study, Google Trends and the search term "dental pain" was used to record the consumer's interest over a five-year period. Additionally, using the search term "Dental anesthesia," a top ten related query list was generated. Queries are grouped into two sections, a "top" category and a "rising" category. We then added additional search term such as: wisdom tooth anesthesia, wisdom tooth general anesthesia, dental anesthetics, local anesthetic, dental numbing, anesthesia dentist, and dental pain. From the related queries generated from each search term, repeated themes were grouped together and ranked according to the total sum of their relative search frequency (RSF) values. Results: Over the five-year time period, Google Trends data show that there was a 1.5% increase in the search term "dental pain". Results of the related queries for dental anesthesia show that there seems to be a large public interest in how long local anesthetics last (Total RSF = 231) - even more so than potential side effects or toxicities (Total RSF = 83). Conclusion: Based on these results it is recommended that clinicians clearly advice their patients on how long local anesthetics last to better manage patient expectations.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.81-88
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• 2016

Local anesthesia is administered to reduce pain during dental treatments, but may itself cause pain and contribute to increased dental fear. Computer-controlled local anesthetic delivery (CCLAD) is one the method to reduce patient pain during local anesthesia; it is a device that slowly administers anesthetics by using a computerized device to control the injection speed. This literature review aims to provide an objective assessment of the usefulness of CCLAD for controlling pain by reviewing papers published to date that have used CCLAD.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Dental Administration
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.32-37
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• 2021

Many approaches to local anesthesia have been studied in dentistry. In this study, we introduce a new local anesthetic method, "Point-Inject Technique (PIT)", and compare it with traditional injection techniques. The PIT method utilizes both the vasoconstrictive and antinociceptive properties of local anesthetics as well as the application of controlled pressure during injection, reducing the time to complete anesthesia. Fifty patients were selected as the experimental group who were anesthetized using PIT, and the other 50 patients were selected as the control group using the direct injection method with a carpool syringe. The PIT group received 0.25 cartridges of 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine. The control group received 1.5~2 cartridges of 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine. Both groups were asked to mark the intensity of the pain caused by anesthesia using the Numeric Pain Rating Scale. The average time to recover from anesthesia was 40 minutes in the experimental group and 90 minutes in the control group. Additionally, 96% of the experimental group reported feeling no pain, while 78% of the control group reported having some form of pain during injection. The PIT method reduced both the reported pain scores of patients as well as time to recover from local anesthesia than the widely-used syringe injection method.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.161-171
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• 2024

The efficient management of pain and discomfort is essential for successful dental treatment and patient compliance. Dental professionals are commonly evaluated for their ability to perform treatment with minimal patient discomfort. Despite advancements in traditional local dental anesthesia techniques, the pain and discomfort associated with injections remain a concern. This scoping review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the literature on novel dental anesthetics and associated devices designed to alleviate pain and discomfort during dental procedures. The Joanna Briggs Institute and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines were used to prepare the review. Six databases and two sources of gray literature were searched. This review analyzed 107 sources from 1994 to 2023. Local anesthesia devices were grouped into computer-controlled local anesthetic delivery (CCLAD) systems, intraosseous anesthesia (IOA), vibratory stimulation devices, and electronic dental anesthesia (EDA). CCLAD systems, particularly the Wand and Single-Tooth Anesthesia, have been the most researched, with mixed results regarding their effectiveness in reducing pain during needle insertion compared to traditional syringes. However, CCLAD systems often demonstrated efficacy in reducing pain during anesthetic deposition, especially during palatal injections. Limited studies on IOA devices have reported effective pain alleviation. Vibrating devices have shown inconsistent results in terms of pain reduction, with some studies suggesting their primary benefit is during needle insertion rather than during the administration phase. EDA devices are effective in reducing discomfort but have found limited applicability. These findings suggest that the CCLAD systems reduce injection pain and discomfort. However, the evidence for other devices is limited and inconsistent. The development and research of innovative technologies for reducing dental pain and anxiety provides opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration and improved patient care in dental practice.

• Journal of The Korean Dental Society of Anesthesiology
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• v.3 no.2 s.5
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• pp.71-79
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• 2003