Recent advances in dental local anaesthesia

Achieving profound local anaesthesia (LA) is a vital skill for oral surgeons, enabling efficient and successful completion of surgical procedures. Recent advances in LA administration aim to enhance patient comfort, improve clinician satisfaction, and increase anaesthetic efficacy.

This review examines the evidence on emerging techniques, including vibrotactile devices, computer-controlled local anaesthetic delivery (CCLAD), single-tooth anaesthesia, intraosseous injections, needleless systems, and buffered LA solutions, comparing them to conventional syringe techniques.

The evidence for these devices and techniques is mixed, with some trials reporting reduced pain or anxiety and increased speed of onset or anaesthesia success in teeth with pulpitis, while other trials report no significant differences compared to conventional syringes. Many of the trials had small sample sizes with high risk of bias, highlighting the need for large scale randomised controlled trials to better establish efficacy of these novel devices. Clinicians should weigh the available evidence alongside their own and patients’ preferences before considering new LA equipment. Emerging techniques hold promise but require further validation to ensure consistent and reliable outcomes in surgical practice.