Expanding the scope of practice--should dental nurses be permitted to administer local analgesia?

Abstract

Dumbing down the profession or meeting the need of more patients by the optimum management of resources? Unequivocally, patient safety and non-maleficence are central to this issue. Restrictions must be imposed to ensure this. Without doubt, continuing competence would have to be demonstrated by the registrant and they would only administer local analgesia after a written prescription by a dentist. Restrictions to infiltration analgesia would also seem prudent. if all involved, including patient representatives, consider this of merit, several issues would have to be resolved such as who wouldnd be responsible for training, the content of the programme a funding for training. This is fundamental for the conception and implementation of such a qualification. Recently, the issue of direct access has been opened. The profession has changed in recent years with more focus being placed on dentists to meet the need of patients burdened by dental disease, particularly the disenfranchised, by utilising the whole dental team. Notwithstanding this and it may seem counter intuitive, but if this role was extended to dental nurses, it may be most adopted in services where time is not so important such as the salaried and other secondary services.