Not surprisingly, the dental injection is not the patient’s favorite part of dental treatment. In fact, much of the aversion that is directed at the dental profession stems from an irrational (or experiential) fear of the intraoral “needle.” Dentists have developed a variety of comfort-inducing techniques and technologies, from topical anesthetics to controlled delivery systems, and some nervous patients have been mollified. Bing Innovations has introduced the DentalVibe, a cordless, rechargeable, handheld device that has been specifically designed to alleviate injection pain intraorally, and to eliminate the accompanying patient apprehension that has plagued dentistry since the advent of infusion anesthesia. The DentalVibe’s proprietary VibraPulse technology gently stimulates the sensory nerves at the injection site, effectively closing the neural pain gate, blocking the pain of injections. It delivers soothing, pulsed, percussive microoscillations immediately adjacent to the site of the administration of the injection, virtually eliminating the patient’s awareness of the needle penetration and anesthetic infusion. The VibraPulse stimulation has an additional important effect; by the gentle massaging of the injection site, the DentalVibe prevents a swelling of the bolus of anesthetic solution as it is injected submucosally. This causes an immediate dissipation of the solution, providing a faster and more profound anesthetic effect. A buzzing sound, at a comfortable decibel range of 70 to 75 dB, has been strategically incorporated into the functional profile of the DentalVibe. It is intended to function as an audible diversion. The noise provides a distracting audible stimulus that the patient tends to focus upon during the injection process. Patients typically, and enthusiastically, report no sensation at all during the injection. Try it; your patients will love it!
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