Buffering of Local Anaesthesia in Dentistry: A Review

Background: Local anaesthetics (LA) constitutes one of the most important aspects of pain management in dentistry. It is currently being stored and marketed in an acidic form to maximize stability, and water solubility and prolong shelf life. However, acidic local anaesthetic solution has been associated with certain disadvantages including the slow onset of action and, pain during its administration. Buffering of the local anaesthetics has been documented to decrease the pain of injection and, shorten the onset time of the anaesthesia thereby, providing more comfortable and reliable anaesthesia. Objective: To present a review of local anaesthetic buffering in dentistryData Sources: PubMed, Google Scholar, CINAHL and, MEDLINE databases were searched without a date limit. The phrases “local anaesthetic buffering” and Alkalinisation of local anaesthetics” were used to find articles related to local anaesthetic buffering.Study Selection: A total of 24 publications were included in this review and, buffering agents, mechanisms, methods and, benefits of local anaesthetic buffering were discussed.Finding: There was a paucity of literature on the effect of buffering on the duration of action of local anaesthetics. Conclusion: Dental professionals are advised to adopt chair-side buffering of LA to increase patient confidence and acceptance of dental treatment.