Unique Anesthetic Delivery System: Buffering a New Revolution in Dentistry

With just an hour before closing, a woman came to the front desk, with no appointment but plenty of tooth pain. Instead of telling her to return the next day, the doctor had his staff usher her into a chair to begin work.

“Generally, we would have shied away from seeing a patient that late in the day. But she was in so much pain, and, normally, ‘hot’ teeth are our nemesis in dentistry,” says Daniel Davidian, DDS, a private practitioner in Raleigh, North Carolina. Davidian was also armed with the confidence of knowing that the Anutra Local Anesthetic Delivery System® would help him perform the pulpectomy quickly—the whole procedure took 20 minutes—leaving him with a happy patient and a staff that could leave work on time.

Davidian, who is also founder of Anutra Medical, says his days are less stressful now that he has the Anutra system. He explains that lidocaine with epinephrine is the most commonly used local anesthetic. To stabilize lidocaine for shipment, manufacturers add hydrochloric acid, which causes the burning sensation on injection. Inspiration for developing the Anutra system, he says, was derived from medicine’s use of sodium bicarbonate to buffer the effects of lidocaine’s low pH level.

“My father was an anesthesiologist, and he buffered his entire career,” Davidian says. “He always asked, ‘Why don’t dentists buffer?’ That’s what really got me interested in exploring what I could do with buffering.” The term buffering refers to neutralizing acids and bases. This acidity is reduced when sodium bicarbonate is added to lidocaine with epinephrine, thus buffering the solution. The result is better clinical efficiency and patients with less pain.

Buffering was not used in dentistry, Davidian explains, because of the metal syringes and self-limiting 1.7-mL or 1.8-mL cartridges. With recent innovations, including a disposable, multidose, aspiration syringe and a new intricately engineered mixing dispenser, buffering is more accessible to dentists.

“I’m a sedation dentist,” Davidian says. “Pain management has always been at the forefront of what I’ve done, and effective anesthesia is the cornerstone of patient care. Anesthesia in dentistry can be unpredictable, but buffering helps make it more predictable, reliable, and efficient.”

Instead of waiting 15 to 20 minutes after administration of lidocaine to take full effect, the Anutra system enables the dentist to begin work within 2 to 3 minutes of administration. This, Davidian asserts, allows the dental team to stay on schedule while improving the patient experience. He points to a recent Contemporary Product Solutions study that found 64% of appointments was shorter than scheduled as a result of using the Anutra system; an average of 16.7 minutes were saved per case.

With the Anutra Local Anesthetic Delivery System, buffering local anesthetics is as simple as twisting a knob, he notes. Designed for precision buffering and eliminating carpules, waste, and inefficiency, the sophisticated system provides the clinician the exact amount of local anesthetic needed for the given procedure. Drugs attached to the cassette have up to a 7-day shelf-life, which is seven times the usable shelf-life of buffering alternatives, Davidian says.

In addition, the Anutra Feedback Aspiration Syringe®, he maintains, has been designed with both the dentist and patient in mind. The syringe is the first known FDA-approved one-handed, multidose, disposable feedback aspiration syringe designed by dentists for dentists, he says. This allows practitioners to draw up to 6 mL of buffered or unbuffered anesthetic in a single syringe. With built-in tactile and audible feedback, practitioners can both feel and hear a slight click within the syringe as each milliliter is administered.

“The built-in kinesthetic feedback allows you to know precisely how much dosage you are giving,” Davidian says. The capacity holds the equivalent of three to four dental cartridges, and the innovative, ergonomic, lightweight design is simple to use.

“The patient’s visit is improved when the dentist doesn’t have to use an intimidating-looking needle,” Davidian insists. “Failed anesthesia plays the biggest role in dental phobia. We believe these products will revolutionize both the patient and clinician experiences.”

Anutra Medical
1000 Perimeter Park D, Suite E
Morrisville, NC 27560
844-ANUTRA1
anutramedical.com