Recent Advances in LA - JC
Recent Advances in LA - JC
Recent Advances in LA - JC
Abstract
Even if local anesthetic is still the mainstay of pain management in dentistry, research will keep striving for
novel and effective pain management techniques. The majority of research efforts are focused on improving
anesthetic medications, delivery systems, and related methods. There are more recent technologies available
that can assist the dentist in providing better pain relief with fewer unpleasant injections and fewer negative
adverse effects. The purpose of the current review of the literature is to compile evidence that will convince
dentists to employ modern local anesthetics, as well as other methods and techniques to reduce patient
discomfort while administering anesthesia.
In today's dentistry practice, pain management that is both safe and efficient is crucial. For the majority of
clinical settings, our existing armamentaria for administering local anesthetic solutions to the maxilla and
mandible are sufficient. For invasive dental procedures including cavity preparation, tooth preparation,
scaling and root planing, surgical procedures, or essential pulp therapy, local anesthetics are employed.
Local anesthetics are utilized for almost all dental procedures with the exception of examination, oral
prophylaxis, and fluoride application, depending on the patient's tolerance for pain or level of fear [2].
Thus, numerous techniques have been advocated to diminish the pain during the administration of local
anesthetic agents, and these include the application of different anesthetic gels [3], distraction techniques
[4], warming the anesthetic agents [5], reducing the speed of injection [6], and buffering local anesthetic
agents [7]. The current review of the literature's findings aims to compile solid data for dentists about the
use of modern local anesthetics, alternative techniques, and tactics to lessen the pain when administering
anesthesia, thereby enhancing patient comfort.
Review
Recent advances in local anesthetic drugs
Articaine and centbucridine are two relatively recent medications that have been shown to be as effective as
or perhaps more effective than lignocaine [8].
Articaine is a local anesthetic that is a member of the amide family. It has an ester group that is processed by
tissues' esterases and a thiophene ring in place of a benzene ring. Articaine has an exponential half-life and
is eliminated over an extended period of time. Unidentified plasma esterases are mostly responsible for
metabolism in the liver and plasma [8].
Articaine has a faster onset of action and longer duration of action. Its success rate is greater. Articaine has
more strong effects (1.5 times more potent) and has a lower level of systemic intoxication [8].
Centbucridine
Centbucridine is a local anesthetic molecule that was created in 1983 at Lucknow, India's Centre for Drug
Research. It functions as a local anesthetic and is a quinolone derivative. It naturally contains antihistaminic
and vasoconstricting effects. Centbucridine, which has an anesthetic power 4-5 times larger than that of 2%
lignocaine, can be used successfully for infiltration, nerve blocks, and spinal anesthesia at a concentration
of 0.5% [9].
Although clinicians have strangely failed to capitalize on its advantages and also validate its use in the
management of pain during dental procedures, this unique chemical has been extensively used in
ophthalmology and other medical disciplines [8]. Centbucridine, according to Gune and Katre [9], is
comparable to lignocaine and can be used as a substitute in cases of hypersensitivity in patients aged 12-14,
as well as in cases of cardiac and thyroid diseases where these vasoconstrictors are prohibited.
It is a frequently employed non-pharmacological approach for treating both acute and ongoing pain.
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) uses an electrical current generated by a machine to
stimulate nerves, mostly for remedial purposes. Because the equipment does not include any syringes, it
instills positive behavior in kids and lessens their apprehension. Hence, pediatric patients can benefit from
this method. It can also be equally helpful for adult patients to produce analgesia during various conditions
such as placing rubber dams, preparing cavities, capping pulp, performing endodontic procedures, preparing
prosthetic teeth, performing oral prophylaxis, and extractions, and also to lessen pain during local
anesthetic injection [10].
Laser Analgesia
Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) is used in a non-thermogenic, noninvasive procedure to biomodulate the
tooth pulp. Similar to infiltrative local anesthesia, LLLT does not induce profound anesthesia or a total loss
of sensation. The sodium-potassium (Na-K) pump is temporarily disrupted by the principle's modification of
neuronal cell activity, which prevents impulse transmission and produces the analgesic effect [11]. Children
and teens experience less anxiety as a result of accepting laser dental treatment [12]. The effectiveness of
the neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) laser in inducing pulpal analgesia was confirmed
by Chan et al. [13] to be comparable to that of 5% eutectic mixture of lidocaine 2.5% and prilocaine 2.5%
(EMLA) anesthetic cream. Chan et al. also proposed that laser therapy may be a novel, noninvasive treatment
option for children who are needle-phobic.
Virtual Anesthesia
The most often used behavioral strategies for reducing dental anxiety are distraction tactics. Virtual reality
(VR) equipment is currently a more entertaining type of diversion. Despite these drawbacks, numerous
researchers have claimed that it lessens discomfort and enhances patient satisfaction during treatment [14].
A decrease in pain and anxiety during pediatric dental treatments was reported in clinical investigations on
VR [15]. These findings suggest that VR can be utilized as a complementary technique for non-
pharmacological analgesia. This is known as "virtual anesthesia" because of the analgesic potential of VR.
According to Atzori et al. [16] and Nunna et al. [17], VR is an effective method for assisting kids in dealing
with dental fillings and extractions in a way that is less stressful and more enjoyable than its alternative.
Cryoanesthesia
This procedure involves cooling a constricted body area with ice or refrigerant sprays to prevent nerves from
transmitting pain signals. Hence, the topical administration of cold would stimulate pain-inhibitory pain
pathways and excite myelinated A-fibers. By reducing the threshold of tissue nociceptors and pain-carrying
conduction nerve signals, cooling leads to neuropraxia [18]. According to Hindocha et al. [19], 5% lidocaine
gel during needle insertion has the same effect as applying ice to the oral mucosa as a topical anesthetic
prior to injection. After application, the topical anesthetic's effects persist for a few minutes [19]. Bose et al.
[20] claimed that precooling the soft tissue area before routine dental operations decreases the pain
VibraJect
Recently, a vibrating dental local anesthetic attachment (VibraJect) was unveiled. It sends a strong enough
high-frequency vibration to the needle for the patient to sense [23]. On the basis of the gate-control theory,
interference stimulation, such as vibration, can reduce pain, according to Kakigi and Watanabe
[24]. Hutchins et al. claimed that the vibration may be useful in lessening injection pain [25]. VibraJect was
suggested by Blair [26] as a painless injection method.
DentalVibe
A recently developed device called DentalVibe vibrates during the administration of dental injections to
stimulate the mechanoreceptors and lessen pain. The tool delivers percussive micro-oscillations to the
injection administration site through a U-shaped vibrating tip that is handheld and cordless [27]. Ungor et
al. [28] examined how DentalVibe affected adult patients' perceptions of pain and anxiety during local
anesthetic injections. They discovered that DentalVibe lessened discomfort without elevating anxiety during
local anesthetic injections.
Accupal
It is a cordless gadget that conditions the oral mucosa by using vibration and pressure together. The inventor
of this tool is Michael Zweifler. Pressure is applied by Accupal, and it also vibrates the injection site 360
degrees around the point where the needle infiltrated and closed the "pain gate." The unit vibrates after
being positioned at the injection site, and a light pressure is applied. The battery-powered motor is
connected to the needle, which is positioned in a hole with a disposable tip head [29].
Buzzy System
The device is designed like a bee and has two components: detachable ice wings and body vibration. It
functions according to the descending inhibitory controls and the gate control theory. More exactly, the
vibration created by the device will obstruct the afferent pain-receptive fibers (A-delta and C fibers), which
will reduce discomfort [30]. On the other hand, when administered close to the nociception location,
continuous cold administration stimulates the C nociceptive fibers and suppresses the A-delta signals [31].
According to Suohu et al. [32], the Buzzy® System, which externally administers cold and vibration adjacent
to the site of local anesthesia administration, can reduce children's pain and anxiety during the delivery of
local anesthesia next to the tooth, which are indicated for invasive dental procedure.
This technique uses a 30-G needle that is extra-short and inserted into the gingival sulcus parallel to the
tooth's long axis. With single- and multi-rooted teeth, the number of locations for providing anesthesia is
one point (distal) versus two (distal and mesial)/three points, respectively. To induce sufficient anesthetic,
the needle must be inserted into the tissue up until it reaches the periodontal ligament (PDL). Due to its pen-
like shape, Single Tooth Anesthesia has the advantages of not causing anticipatory worry, not hurting,
having no effects on the lips, tongue, or cheeks, and not damaging the permanent teeth's crown [33]. STA is
an efficient substitute for conventional treatments, according to Garret-Bernardin et al. [34], because it
causes children less severe pain and distress.
Tetracaine is a water-soluble, long-lasting ester local anesthetic that, when given topically, has 5-8 times the
potency of cocaine [1]. It is metabolized in plasma by plasma pseudocholinesterase, and a concentration of
0.15% and 2% are utilized as injection and topical application, respectively [35]. Before surgical and
exploratory procedures, it is utilized as a nasopharyngeal and nasal anesthetic drug [36,37]. Hersh et al. [38]
conducted a 150-person, double-masked, randomized, placebo-controlled research to assess the
Intraligamentary injection (ILI), also known as the periodontal ligament injection, has been shown to be
quite effective when only one tooth in the mandible needs to be sedated [39]. Only localized soft tissue
anesthesia develops after the PDL injection administers pulpal anesthesia for the tooth. In contrast to a
traditional inferior alveolar nerve block, when the jaw is injected, there is no extraoral or lingual numbness.
Constraints include the likelihood of a local anesthetic solution to leak into the patient's mouth and the
inability to properly determine the needle implantation position (inside or at the PDL entry). High pressure
is required to inject the local anesthetic into the thick oral tissues at the PDL injection site using a standard
syringe [40,41].
QuickSleeper
To lessen the pain of the anesthetic effect's injection, anesthesia is administered using this approach at a
steady velocity and pressure [42]. It consists of a handpiece and a control box; by depressing the pedal,
signals are transmitted through Bluetooth to the main control box. The handpiece drills and injects an
anesthetic solution into the cancellous bone or intra-bony area after the circuit is complete to produce the
greatest anesthetic effectiveness [43]. According to Smaïl-Faugeron et al. [44], the QuickSleeper® technology
makes it easier for dental professionals to treat young patients and adolescents because it causes less
discomfort and anxiety.
Conclusions
Local analgesia is a secure and reliable pain management technique. One of the foundational tenets of
contemporary dentistry practice is its application. Traditional methods for administering local anesthetics
no longer seem to be as effective as modern approaches. These more modern methods are being promoted
for their benefits and have a broad range of potential applications in dentistry. Modern techniques for
providing local anesthetics efficiently and painlessly make the process more enjoyable for the dentist and the
patient, which has a good impact on establishing a strong patient-dentist bond.
Additional Information
Disclosures
Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the
following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from
any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have
no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might
have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no
other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.
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