Buffering Brilliance: Optimizing Anesthetic Performance
Post Date: 4/21/2025
CE Amount: 1
Categories: Sedation, +1 moreLocal Anesthesia
COURSE OVERVIEW
Local anesthesia is a cornerstone of modern dental and surgical practices, providing effective pain control for various procedures leading to improved treatment experiences and ultimately, better patient care. To improve stability and shelf-life, the pH range of commercially available cartridges of dental local anesthetic solutions containing a vasoconstrictor, such as epinephrine, is between 3-5. Acidic anesthetic solutions, however, can lead to delayed onset, injection pain, and inadequate depth of anesthesia especially for sensitive areas like the palate or inflamed tissues. Buffering local anesthetics with sodium bicarbonate to raise the pH of these solutions closer to physiological levels immediately before injection has become a proven method to enhance patient comfort and improve the onset and effectiveness of the anesthetic.
The first chairside device for buffering lidocaine in dental cartridges was approved by the FDA in 2010. With the introduction of commercially available chairside buffering devices, some clinicians started experimenting with hand-mixing alternatives using medical syringes and sodium bicarbonate vials to reduce costs. The first study on this approach, published in 2016, examined the 'remove and replace' method and compared buffered solutions prepared using the same ratio of local anesthetic to sodium bicarbonate as the commercially available chairside buffering devices. Three years later, a simpler chairside buffering method, called the 'direct injection technique,' reduced the complexities of earlier strategies by simply adding sodium bicarbonate directly into the local anesthetic cartridge. A brilliant new product launched in 2025 has now reduced the effort of chairside buffering to less than three seconds: a brilliant breakthrough in optimizing anesthetic performance.
This interactive program examines the benefits of buffering dental cartridges of commercially available local anesthetic solutions with sodium bicarbonate immediately before injection to offer clinical benefits such as reduced injection pain, faster onset, and improved efficacy. These advantages enhance patient comfort and procedural efficiency, making buffered anesthetics a valuable option for both routine and more complex dental and surgical procedures. Case studies will augment the delivery of key points and a problem-based learning approach is encouraged so that each participant’s questions are addressed.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing this webinar, participants will be able to:
- Describe the pharmacology of current commercially available local anesthetics and some of the clinical challenges these drugs represent.
- Understand the principles of buffering and how this can provide additional clinical benefits of current commercially available local anesthetics.
- Discuss the role of a new one-step solution for buffering local dental anesthetics.
- Recognize at least three clinical benefits of buffering current commercially available local anesthetics.
COURSE SPEAKER
Mark Donaldson, BSP, RPH, PHARMD, FASHP, FACHE
Associate Principal, Pharmacy Advisory Solutions
827 Highland Drive, Whitefish, Montana, 59937
Mark Donaldson received his baccalaureate degree from the University of British Columbia and his Doctorate in Clinical Pharmacy from the University of Washington. He has practiced as a clinical pharmacy specialist, clinical coordinator and director of pharmacy services at many healthcare organizations in both Canada and the United States. He is currently Associate Principal of Clinical Pharmacy for Vizient’s Advisory Solutions, and lives in Whitefish, Montana. Dr. Donaldson is a Clinical Professor at the University of Montana, Clinical Associate Professor at the Oregon Health & Sciences University, and affiliate faculty in Dentistry at UBC. He has lectured internationally to both dental and medical practitioners focusing on dental pharmacology and therapeutics and is a leader in the field.
Dr. Donaldson has published numerous peer-reviewed works and textbook chapters. He serves on the Editorial Board for the Journal of the American Dental Association and is the 2016 recipient of the Academy of General Dentistry’s Dr. Thaddeus Weclew Award. In 2019 he was conferred by the Canadian Dental Association (CDA) with the “Special Friend of Canadian Dentistry Award.” This award is given to an individual outside of the dental profession in appreciation for exemplary support or service to the profession as a whole. He can be reached via email at:
TARGET AUDIENCE
This course is intended for Dental Assistant, Dentist, Hygienist, and Office Manager from novice to advanced.
EDUCATIONAL METHOD
Self Instructional Online CE Course
IMAGE AUTHENTICITY STATEMENT
No images in this presentation have been altered.
SCIENTIFIC INTEGRITY STATEMENT
Information shared in this continuing education activity is developed from clinical research and represents the most current information available from evidence-based dentistry.
KNOWN BENEFITS AND LIMITATIONS
Information in this continuing education activity is derived from data and information obtained from the reference section.
DISCLOSURE
This Dental Learning presentation is made possible through the continued support of . Dr. Mark Donaldson is a consultant and/or speaker for the following companies and/or organizations: Dental Learning, . Dr. Mark Donaldson may receive an honorarium as compensation from the CE Supporter of this presentation and/or from Dental Learning for the time involved in preparing and delivering this online presentation.
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