OVERVIEW

Quality Resource Guide: Local Anesthetics (5th Edition) is organized by MetLife.

Originally published: March 2005
Updated and revised: July 2009, June 2012, June 2015, and May 2018
Expiration date: May 2021

Accreditation:
MetLife assigns this activity for 1.0 continuing education credits for the review of this Quality Resource Guide and successful completion of the post-test.

Course Description:
The daily routine use and safety of local anesthetics can begin to complacency and errors in drug selection. The fifth edition of this Guide contributes a quick overview of the information that needs to be considered if adverse outcomes are to be avoided and optimal effectiveness achieved. It starts with a brief review of the pharmacology of local anesthetics and yields a discussion of side effects and toxicity with the importance of identifying the symptoms of systemic toxicity. Incorporated description of the essential questions that necessitate being asked when a patient indicates a past adverse experience. The Guide contains a description and a table that provides a quick reference to information on dosages for the nine local anesthetic formulations commonly used in Dentistry. The selection of an anesthetic specific to the duration required by the clinical procedure and route of administration is presented in both text and table form. The Guide concludes with a discussion and evaluation of alternative delivery methods including computer-assisted devices and topical anesthetics.

Educational Objectives:
Following this unit of instruction, the learner should be able to:
• Identify the associated pharmacologic and clinical features of currently available local
anesthetics used in dentistry.
• Know the rationale for using vasoconstrictors together with local anesthetics.
• Explain the mechanisms by which local anesthetics and vasoconstrictors can produce
adverse reactions and how such reactions can be avoided or minimized.
• Appreciate the need to assess the patient’s risk for adverse reactions to local anesthetics and
vasoconstrictors.
• Be familiar with the factors that determine the choice of a local anesthetic preparation and its route
of administration in a particular patient.
• Be familiar with the use and limitations of topical anesthetics in the oral cavity

Additional details will be posted as soon as they are available.