One of the most important injections in dentistry is the “mandibular nerve block,” yet it possesses a significantly high failure rate. We will analyze reasons for this failure and methods for overcoming this important clinical problem. Alternative techniques such as the Gow-Gates, Vazirani-Akinosi, PDL, Intraosseous and Articaine via mandibular infiltration and buffered lidocaine will be reviewed.

Patients do not want to experience pain during dental treatment. Local anesthetics are the safest and most effective drugs for the prevention and management of pain, yet, on occasion, achieving profound anesthesia painlessly can be challenging. We will discuss the means to making dental local anesthetic injections more effective and more comfortable. Topics include: articaine; buffering (the local anesthetic ‘on switch’); phentolamine (the local anesthetic ‘off switch’), and computer-controlled local anesthetic delivery (C-CLAD). 

Medical emergencies can and do happen in the practice of dentistry. In this program Dr. Malamed will review the important steps involved in preparing the dental office and staff to promptly recognize and effectively manage potentially life-threatening situations in the 10 minutes until arrival of EMS (emergency medical services).

Local anesthesia forms the backbone of pain control in dental practices and are the safest and most effective drugs for periprocedural and postprocedural pain control and management – when used properly. We will compare the available dental local anesthetics and discuss their optimal clinical use, with a special emphasis on dentistry’s newest local anesthetic, articaine. We will also look at the potential for serious adverse events developing during the use of local anesthetics and discuss current research surrounding improving dental pain control.

Cardiovascular emergencies represent a growing and serious issue in today’s dental office. This in-depth course will review the prevention, recognition and management of cardiovascular emergencies, including angina pectoris, acute myocardial infarction and sudden cardiac arrest. The importance of AEDs will be discussed. Be better prepared for these emergencies in your practice!