Local Anesthetic

What is Local Anesthetic?
Local Anesthetic (Local) is when the dentist numbs one small or “local” region of your mouth for a dental procedure. It is convenient for the patient to have the smallest area numb for a given procedure. Local is what you usually get for a small filling on a tooth in your top teeth.

What is a “Block”?
A block is the opposite of “local” anesthetic. Where a local injection is designed to numb a small area, a block is designed to numb an entire region.

When would you use local verses a block?
No one likes injections so dentist use adjunct procedures like Neuro Stimulation and Topcial to decrease the unpleasant stimulation. Sometimes dentists can simply minimize the number of injections by giving a block that numbs a number of teeth at once.

What drug is used for the injection?”
2% Lidocaine is by far the most commonly used local anesthetic drug used. Lidocaine is the drug that numbs your teeth and gums. It usually contains 1:100,000 Epinephrine (epi). This small amount of epi is used to prolong the action of the Lidocaine. That means fewer injections!