Local Anesthetics Quiz

Local anesthetics are chemicals that temporarily block nerve impulses, leading to a loss of sensation in a specific area.

Amides are the most common type of local anesthetic used for injections.

Local anesthetics are categorized by their duration of action: short, intermediate, and long.

Short-duration anesthetics provide pulpal anesthesia for around 30 minutes.

Intermediate-duration anesthetics provide pulpal anesthesia for around 60 minutes.

A common rule of thumb that recommends one cartridge of local anesthetic can be used for every 25 pounds of patient weight. (i.e., 6 cartridges for a patient weighing 150 pounds)

A drug that blocks nerve signals for a short duration, used to numb a specific area for dental procedures.

A drug that blocks nerve signals for a long duration, used to numb a specific area for dental procedures.

A local anesthetic that is injected directly into the area of pain, used for procedures like fillings and extractions.

A local anesthetic injected near a nerve to numb a larger area, used for procedures like extractions or when multiple teeth need to be numbed.

A common adverse reaction to local anesthesia where the heart beats faster

A serious adverse reaction to local anesthesia where the body is overwhelmed with the anesthetic, leading to potential complications.

A type of adverse effect of local anesthetics, where red blood cells cannot carry oxygen efficiently, leading to a lack of oxygen.

Local anesthetics classified as Category B by the FDA are considered safe for use during pregnancy, while Category C anesthetics have a potential for harm. Lidocaine and prilocaine belong to Category B, while mepivacaine, bupivacaine, and articaine fall into Category C. When using local anesthetics with vasoconstrictors in pregnant women, it's recommended to use the lowest concentration of the vasoconstrictor and to employ aspiration techniques to avoid accidental injections into blood vessels.

The pulpal anesthesia, or numbness of the tooth, for a successful inferior alveolar nerve block is usually expected to occur within 15 minutes and last for at least 60 minutes. This means the patient should be able to feel numbness for a full hour.

Traditional methods of confirming anesthesia, such as testing lip numbness or soft tissue sensitivity, may not accurately determine pulpal anesthesia. Therefore, relying on these methods alone can be misleading for determining dental anesthesia.

Using an electric pulp tester is one of the most reliable and accurate ways to confirm pulpal anesthesia, as it directly assesses the response of the tooth's nerve.

Cold refrigerant spray is a commonly used alternative method to verify pulpal anesthesia. The application of cold causes a reaction in a healthy tooth nerve, which is then detected or not detected in the anesthetized tooth. This method is considered less reliable than using an electric pulp tester but still provides valuable information.

Repeat the initial injection only if the patient doesn't exhibit classic signs of soft-tissue anesthesia like profound lip numbness. Reinjection is generally not effective if classic signs are present.

Various supplemental injections can be used, including infiltration, intraosseous, intralingamentary, intraseptal, and intrapulpal.

Infiltrations alone, either buccal or buccal plus lingual, are ineffective for complete pulpal anesthesia in the mandible.

Intraosseous (IO) injection delivers anesthetic directly into the cancellous bone next to the tooth, making it particularly useful for procedures in mandibular second molars, especially when supplemental anesthesia is likely required.

IO injections have a faster onset and shorter duration compared to infiltration injections.

The Stabident, X-Tip, and TNN systems are commonly used techniques for administering IO anesthetic.

The Stabident system involves perforating the cortical bone with a perforator, a wire attached to a plastic hub used with a low-speed handpiece, to create a hole for anesthetic deposition.

The technique for IO injection involves three steps: anesthetizing the attached gingiva, perforating the cortical bone, and depositing the anesthetic solution into the cancellous bone.

Injecting the anesthetic solution into the cancellous bone, which lies just beneath the cortical bone, to provide anesthesia for specific teeth.

The ideal location to inject for most teeth is on the side away from the front of the mouth, except for some molars where the injection is better on the front side.

The hole for the injection should be in the middle area between teeth and in the gum that is closely attached to the bone. This minimizes tissue and bone damage.

The anesthesia provided by an intraosseous injection can last long enough for procedures like cleanings and fillings that take about 45 minutes.

This technique uses a needle to inject anesthetic directly into the periodontal ligament, the membrane that surrounds the tooth root.

A type of syringe that delivers anesthetic with pressure, commonly used for Intraligamentary anesthesia.

A system that uses a computer to control the delivery of anesthetic, providing very precise control and comfort during injections.

The success of an Intraligamentary injection depends on feeling back-pressure from injecting the anesthetic.

A type of local anesthesia that involves injecting into the pulp of the tooth itself. It is used for vital pulps in the mandible when other techniques have failed.

An injection that involves injecting the anesthetic solution directly into the ligament surrounding the tooth.

A type of local anesthetic technique that involves injecting the anesthetic solution directly into the inferior alveolar nerve, which supplies the teeth in the mandible.

A local anesthetic technique that involves injecting the anesthetic solution close to the mental foramen, which is the opening in the mandible where the mental nerve exits.

A type of local anesthetic technique that involves injecting the anesthetic solution close to the incisive foramen, which is an opening at the front of the palate where the nasopalatine nerve exits.

A type of local anesthetic technique that involves injecting the anesthetic solution close to the greater palatine foramen, which is an opening in the hard palate where the greater palatine nerve exits.

A type of local anesthetic technique that involves injecting the anesthetic solution into the soft palate to numb the area around the molars.