THE EFFICACY OF LOCAL-ANESTHETICS ADMINISTERED BY GENERAL DENTAL PRACTITIONERS

Aim To obtain empirical evidence for the efficacy of local anaesthesia in dentistry. Design Retrospective analysis of serial administrations of local anaesthesia. Methods Dentist and patient evaluations of the success of differing techniques (infiltration and block) of anaesthesi a in a variety of general practice procedures. Results were analysed f or correlation between dentist and patient using a 5-point scale. Resu lts Complete data were analysed for 331 administrations. In the hands of experienced dentists over 93% of operations were assessed by both d entist and patient as comfortable or completely comfortable. Dentists were generally able to judge patient comfort (P < 0.001). Administrati ons requiring repeat injections were less comfortable. Dentists judged infiltration administrations more comfortable than block administrati ons (P < 0.001), but patient judgements of comfort failed to distingui sh between differing techniques at the P < 0.05 level. Conclusions Som e variations in success rate exist between dentists the most dental pr ocedures under local anaesthetic in general practice were assessed as being comfortable or better by both dentists and patients.