Local anaesthetic techniques in the mandible short course for Dental Practitioners

This session will provide an overview of the various regional mandibular blocks used to obtain anaesthesia. It will also describe the methods of administration. This session was reviewed by Kathy Wilson in May 2015.

Learning objectives

By the end of this session you will be able to:

• list the regional nerve blocks of the mandible and demonstrate knowledge of their use
• describe the administration of the regional nerve blocks of the mandible
• describe how to administer a long buccal infiltration
• identify the tissues anaesthetised by each block and a long buccal infiltration

Anaesthesia is the 'loss of sensation' in a region of the body by an inhibition of the conduction process in peripheral nerves to the central nervous system, or by a depression in neural excitation. The main aim of dental anaesthesia is to eliminate pain sensation; this loss of pain alone is known as analgesia.