Dentist and patient evaluation of an electronic dental analgesia system

Questionnaires were used to evaluate operators' and patients' attitudes to a recently introduced electronic dental analgesia system. Five participating dentists were given 30 minutes' instruction in the use of the system and asked to offer the use of the system to patients who expressed an interest in using the system or anxiety to administration of local anesthesia. The system, used for 113 patients, was considered most useful for placement of Class I and Class V restorations and procedures such as crown or prosthesis insertion. The system was considered most suitable for patients who disliked needles or numbness. Principal difficulties encountered were the time-consuming nature of the system and the differing electrode sites required for different patients. Major benefits identified were the absence of drugs, needles, residual numbness, and invasiveness and a reduction in anxiety in needle phobics. Forty-one percent of patients indicated that the system controlled discomfort more effectively than did local anesthesia. Seventy-two percent of respondent patients stated that they would request its use for future treatment.