Within the last 30 years, the role of dental hygienists has expanded to include the administration of local anesthesia. Several studies have been performed to assess practice characteristics and effectiveness…
Since the introduction of nonreusable, stainless steel dental local anesthetic needles, needle breakage has become an extremely rare complication of dental local anesthetic injections. But although rare, dental needle breakage…
Alterations to normal oral sensory function can occur following restorative and surgical dental procedures. Paresthesia is defined as an abnormal sensation, such as burning, pricking, tickling, or tingling. Paresthesias are…
Needle phobia has profound health, dental, societal, and legal implications, and severe psychological, social, and physiologic consequences. There is genetic evidence for the physiologic response to needle puncture, and a…
A clinically significant interaction between epinephrine or levonordefrin with nonselective beta-adrenergic blocking agents, although apparently rare in the dental setting, is potentially serious and can lead to significant hypertension with…
The most widely used method for controlling pain during dental procedures is the intraoral administration of local anesthetics in close proximity to a specific nerve or fiber to obtund nerve…
The use of systemically absorbed drugs in the gravid and in the lactating patient is of concern to the dentist. This article reviews concerns for the health and safety of…
Phentolamine mesylate, at dosages from 0.4 to 0.8 mg in adults and adolescents and at dosages from 0.2 to 0.4 mg in children aged 4 to 11 years, has been…
Dentistry has two medications in its pain management armamentarium that may cause the potentially life-threatening disorder methemoglobinemia. The first medications are the topical local anesthetics benzocaine and prilocaine. The second…
True allergic reactions to local anesthetics are rare adverse reactions. At the most, they represent less than 1% of all adverse local anesthetic reactions. When true allergic reactions have been…
Although the use of long-acting local anesthetics has become a useful therapeutic approach for managing peri- and postoperative pain, recent evidence reveals unexpected outcomes. This article reviews the clinical use…
In 2000, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of 4% articaine with epinephrine 1:100,000, and with epinephrine 1:200,000 in 2006. Articaine has been commonly compared with…
Infiltration is preferred to regional block techniques in the maxilla as the former offers a number of advantages. This paper considers the evidence for the efficacy of infiltration anesthesia in…
Local anesthetics are commonly used in both dentistry and medicine. These drugs are also used in some office-based medical practices. Except for minor procedures, most physicians who require complicated nerve…
The development of safe and effective local anesthetic agents has possibly been the most important advancement in dental science to occur in the last century. The agents currently available in…
Salivary gland abnormalities and salivary dysfunction are important orofacial disorders. Patients with such problems are usually seen in the dental office for evaluation and therapy, and the dental practitioner is…
Dental implantology based on osseointegration is among the most significant advances in dental science in the last 50 years. Imaging technology contributes to all stages of implant treatment, from presurgical…
Periodontitis is an inflammatory disease of bacterial origin that results in the progressive destruction of the tissues that support the teeth, specifically the gingiva, periodontal ligament, and alveolar bone. The…
This article discusses the classic autoimmune diseases: pemphigus vulgaris, mucosal pemphigoid, and oral lichen planus. These are generally considered of autoimmune origin or, at a minimum, immune system mediated. Cause,…
This article addresses several issues in the approach to diagnosis of oral cancer. The term oral cancer is clarified. Key aspects of the biologic basis of development of oral cancer…
