Dental Injection Guide

So I've recently started to work clinically again which has been so fun! However, I get a little nervous each time I have a free second, since I know the dentist will ask me to jump in and help with injections. I love a good injection and I feel confident in my injections for perio debridement. Dental procedures on the other hand, not so much. So I'll be printing off our latest free download, a dental injection guide for the dental hygienist, and sticking it in my OHE kit to have on hand as a reference. Hopefully now, no more sweating will be involved when someone asked to help on the doctor's side!

Other fun facts about using local anesthetic on dental patients:

1. Do not give less than what is recommended, even if the patient is under sedation. The patient is still conscious, could still feel the procedure, and will move when they feel pain.

2. Many dental schools teach to only use lidocaine on all injections. Some teach septocaine on everything except the IA block. 

3. Checking blood pressure is always recommended before treatments with local anesthetic to see how much can epi can be used.

Note: This is a guide. This injection protocol is taught at most dental schools, but your dentist may have a different school of though when it comes to what local anesthetic is needed or which injections should be utilized. If you ever have questions on their preferences, just ask! They'd prefer you to double check instead of not having the patient fully numb.

Do you regularly give injections for the dentist's procedures? How often?