The use of intraosseous anesthesia among endodontists: results of a questionnaire

The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of supplemental intraosseous (IO) anesthesia among endodontists in the United States. The study also looked at the types of anesthetic solutions commonly used for IO anesthesia and in which diagnostic conditions IO anesthesia is used. A Web-based survey of 2,528 active members of the American Association of Endodontists was sent out by e-mail. Data from 833 respondents were collected with a response rate of 33%. It was discovered that 94.77% of the respondents used some form of IO anesthesia, with the periodontal ligament injection (PDL) being the most commonly administered (49.78%). Symptomatic irreversible pulpitis is the pulpal diagnosis for which respondents most often use some form of IO anesthesia (61.99%), and 2% lidocaine with epinephrine 1:100,000 is the most common anesthetic solution used in IO anesthesia (37.62%). Although more than half of the respondents use some form of IO anesthesia more than twice a week, newer IO anesthesia delivery systems such as Stabident (Fairfax Dental, San Francisco, CA) and X-Tip (Dentsply International, Johnson City, TN) are used less often than the PDL injection.