Can we improve the standard injection?

The purpose
Year after year, survey after survey, DPR’s readers affirm that when it comes to choosing products for their practices, colleague recommendations are vital. Here, we provide space for dental professionals-like you and your team-to reflect on the products they
see making a difference.

One thing I appreciate about the dental industry is that there are so many innovative ideas from innovative minds-someone out there is always thinking and ahead of the game.

I always get a rush walking through the halls of a dental convention. Once through the double doors I’m filled with an overwhelming sense of excitement and anticipation over where to begin. In that moment, I always feel especially proud to be a dental assistant.

There are many ways that clinical assistants and their teams can rove the aisles of exhibit halls to best use their time. Some assistants map out booth visits a week before the convention (others the night before) to check out the newest products available. Many of these products have been researched by assistants ahead of time through dental magazines, newsletters, websites, marketing materials or colleague recommendations.

In this column, I hope to share some of the “finds” that have helped make my time chairside more productive or the patient experience more enjoyable. Most recently, I encountered OnSet by Onpharma Inc., invented by Dr. Mic Falkel, founder and Chief Medical Officer for the company. Designed to enhance patient comfort and ease, this mixing pen is used to reduce the acidity level in anesthetic carpules prior to injection.

After listening to the research behind OnSet, my dentist, Dr. Mark E. Hyman, decided this was something worth trying in our practice. If there is one thing we are committed to in our practice, it is applying new technologies to improve patient satisfaction and internal efficiency.

“As an expanded functions dental assistant, I have to satisfy both the patient and the dentist, however patient satisfaction is the priority, after all where would we be without our patients,” shared fellow dental assistant Mary R. Hahn. “With this thought in mind, OnSet takes how we care for patients to a new level.”

When it comes to integrating new products into a practice, implementation often falls into the hands of a fellow teammate-assistant or hygienist. As our clinical assisting team eagerly watched the video and explanation on how to use OnSet, the mixing pen seemed easy to assemble. After the anesthetic carpule is attached to the mixing pen, the clinician turns the dispensing dial to the desired level of sodium bicarbonate to be mixed with local anesthetic. This will reduce the acidity level to a neutral level without compromising the effect of the anesthetic to the patient. After the solution is mixed, the carpule is ready to be transferred to the syringe in less than 10 seconds.

Onset provides rapid onset of “Analgesia” with less injection pain for the patient. Most patients are numb in 90 seconds, making the anesthesia experience more predictable while enhancing the patients’ experience.

With this being a new product, our team did have some skepticism. With our dentist already known for gentle injections, we wondered if we would truly see a difference in patient reaction. Since incorporating OnSet into our daily procedures, our patients have been pleasantly surprised and tell us there is no longer a slight sting from the injection and that the anesthetic does seem to work faster. They expressed thanks that our team is always looking for something better so they can look forward to upcoming visits without fear. With positive statements like this, we know products do more than make our lives easier. They can make our patients’ lives better. To me, this makes our profession even more exciting to explore.