Administering palatal anesthesia is a necessary evil that I always dread. As you can imagine, working in public health means I have done a lot of maxillary extractions. Knowing I have to give that palatal anesthesia always makes the sweat start beading before we even get started. I want to make my patients comfortable, but my arsenal of tips and tricks for making palatal anesthesia less painful has never been very extensive or effective.
At Dental Advisor, we recently received the Palatal Anesthesia Device (Master Dental Inc.). This instrument uses the principle of applying pressure to the area, that we have all done with a mirror handle, but makes it more effective. According to the manufacturer the Palatal Anesthesia Device uses the principles of pressure anesthesia and the “gate control theory of pain” to alleviate the pain associated with a palatal injection. The stimulation of the surface tactile receptors by the instrument “opens the gate” of the pain-transmitting fibers and interrupts their transmission to the brain. Therefore, the pain associated with the initial needle penetration is greatly reduced.
The “C” shape allows for targeted pressure right at the injection site 
The targeted pressure blanches the injection site very effectively
What were the Initial Insights of the Dental Advisor team and our editorial board?
– Great idea!
– Takes a proven method for pain reduction and makes it more efficient.
– It takes very little pressure with this instrument to get the tissue to blanch.
– Not just a good instrument to have on hand for an office that does a lot of palatal anesthesia but maybe even better for the offices that do it rarely and have not perfected a technique for pain reduction during palatal anesthesia.
– We want to test this to see how effective it is… is it worth another instrument on my tray?
What do our Clinical Evaluators and their patients think about this product once it’s used in their offices? Look for a possible clinical evaluation in an upcoming issue!
