Single tooth anesthesia versus conventional anesthesia: a cross-over study
I have been using the STA Wand for over a decade. It just works! MJ
Abstract
Objectives
The
aim of the present study was to compare an electronic device, the Wand
Injection System (Milestone Scientific Livingstone), with conventional
anesthesia in terms of the following: pain sensation during anesthetic
injection; effectiveness in achieving adequate anesthesia for a complete
painless dental treatment; post-operative discomfort; and patient’s
anxiety toward dental treatment.
Materials and methods
Eighty
adults from 18 to 70 years were enrolled in this cross-over study. Each
patient served as his/her own control being subject to two anesthesia
techniques: conventional and Single Tooth Anesthesia (STA) performed
with the Wand. A split-mouth design was adopted in which each tooth
undergoing conservative restorative or endodontic treatment received
anesthesia with both techniques at 1-week interval. Before anesthetic
administration, the patients’ anxiety levels were determined.
Physiological parameteres were measured before, during, and after the
two injection procedures, and the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was used
to assess pain of injection, discomfort, and anesthetic efficacy.
Differences in assessment of pain’s injection, discomfort, anesthetic
efficacy, vital parameters (heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen
saturation), and state anxiety levels were analyzed using Student’s t test (p value < 0.001).
Results
The mean injection pain and post-operative discomfort ratings with Wand were lower than those with conventional syringe (p = 0.022 and p < 0.001,
respectively). No differences were found in the assessment of
anesthetic efficacy. Blood pressure and heart rate mean values were
lower during the anesthesia performed with the Wand than with the
conventional syringe (p < 0.001). The anxiety level was higher during the first appointment, independently from the device used for the injections.
Conclusion
The STA technique resulted in lower pain, discomfort, and lower intensity of physiological parameters.
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