The efficacy of local anaesthetics 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 anaesthesia in a variety of general practice procedures. Results were analysed for correlation between dentist and patient using a 5-point scale.

RESULTS

Complete data were analysed for 331 administrations. In the hands of experienced dentists over 93% of operations were assessed by both dentist and patient as comfortable or completely comfortable. Dentists were generally able to judge patient comfort (P < 0.001). Administrations requiring repeat injections were less comfortable. Dentists judged infiltration administrations more comfortable than block administrations (P < 0.001), but patient judgements of comfort failed to distinguish between differing techniques at the P < 0.05 level.

CONCLUSIONS

Some variations in success rate exist between dentists the most dental procedures under local anaesthetic in general practice were assessed as being comfortable or better by both dentists and patients.