Patient comfort is a high priority at Top Down Dental, so we’ve introduced many technologies that help people to be more comfortable during and after their dental visit. One of these introduction is Anutra, a system for providing buffered anesthesia. Buffered anesthesia has many potential advantages, and now a new study confirms these benefits.
Is Buffered Anesthesia Twice as Effective?
For this study, researchers compared the effectiveness of two different anesthetic solutions. One was a buffered solution of 1% anesthesia solution (prepared using Anutra) and the other was an unbuffered solution of 2% anesthesia. They then measured many aspects of the anesthesia experience, including the time to onset, the amount of discomfort on injection, the degree of numbing, and the time to a return of sensation. For the most part, the two solutions were equivalent.
However, the buffered solution caused less discomfort on injection. On the other hand, the double strength anesthesia lasted longer. This is not always a good thing. For most dental procedures, anesthesia lingers long after the procedure is finished. In fact, many offices use drugs to try to reduce the time of recovery once the procedure is finished, so a shorter anesthesia period is not bad. It gives us more control over how long we want your anesthesia to last.
Limitations of the Study
Of course, it’s important to talk about the limitations of this particular study. The biggest limitation is the small sample size. Only 24 people were used in the study, and they were all about the same age. This means that although this study can tell us some things, many of the questions in this study are left unanswered. For example, if there had been more individuals, we might have seen a statistically significant difference between the two solutions. People who got the buffered anesthesia got numb an average of 2.5 minutes faster, but that wasn’t enough to reach the level of statistical significance.
Are You Looking for a More Comfortable Dental Experience?
Many people are unhappy with the discomfort of dental visits. It’s part of what makes them so anxious about visiting the dentist in the first place. But there are ways to make your dental visit more comfortable, and we are constantly introducing these to our patients. For example, NuCalm can help patients overcome dental anxiety without drugs. This not only helps people feel more comfortable, it helps anesthesia work better as well. And we’ve worked to make our dental office as comfortable as possible to help you feel welcome and relaxed.
If you want a dental office that can help you have the most comfortable dental experience in the San Jose area, please call (408) 354-5600 today for an appointment with cosmetic dentist Dr. Nancy Nehawandian at Top Down Dental in Los Gatos.
