Local Anesthesia in Pediatric Dentistry
Preparation of Patient

Preparation of the patient prior to injection consists of two components, mental and physical.

Mental preparation begins with explaining to the child, in terminology they can understand, the anesthesia administration process. Dr. Steven Schwartz has successfully used the following narrative for several years, and similar terms can be adapted in the dental practice:

“Today I’m going to put your tooth asleep, wash some germs out of your teeth and place a white star. When your tooth falls asleep your lip and tongue will feel fat and funny for a little while. First, you’re going to sit in my special chair and then I’m going to place some (goofy, cherry, bubble gum) tooth jelly next to your tooth. Then I’ll wash it away with the sleepy water. I’m going to show you everything I do so you can see how easy this is.”