Principal Dentist Keith Preston talks about how his scepticism over computer-assisted analgesia has turned to positivity thanks to a free in-practice trial that could help convince others this is the way forward in combatting patients’ fear of the dental injection.
With almost half of UK adults admitting to a fear of the dentist (Oral Health Foundation study) and nearly 28% of those citing a fear of dental injections as the cause (Adult Dental Health survey), then finding a solution is most welcome.
Administering anaesthesia is a big part of everyday dentistry, and without it many procedures would not be possible. Managing the pain and anxiety around anaesthesia will enable us to create strategies to greatly improve patient perception of dental visits. Mastering the ability to provide comfortable injections is something all clinicians should strive for and I am particularly interested in it for the benefit of my patients.
In 2016 I became aware of an increasing choice of motorised injection systems that provide a slow, steady and gentle flow of anaesthesia designed to take the pain out of injections, but I had yet to try one and decide if they really did offer any patient benefit or significant ROI.
I decided to take a closer look at the CALAJECT™ computer-assisted local anaesthesia system with the assistance of their UK distributor, Evident, and spoke to a representative about how the system could fit into my practice and the costs involved. Despite the positive reviews, I wasn’t convinced that it would be for me. On initial investigation it seemed to be a significant investment in something I had never tested on my own patients and I was concerned that it wouldn’t pay for itself in the long term.
With total faith in the quality of their products, Evident offered me the chance to trial the CALAJECT in my own surgery with no obligation to buy. As there was nothing to lose – I took them up on their offer.
With the trial arranged, what interested me most was how many of my patients would benefit from the CALAJECT system. A major selling point with motorised injection systems is that they are ideal for treating anxious or needle-phobic patients. Every practice has its share of anxious patients, but it’s not a large proportion. In my experience, nobody claims to like injections but generally patients are neither here nor there about it.
Market research to find the fear
I wanted to do some more investigation and ran a patient survey . I asked all patients undergoing anaesthesia with CALAJECT to answer some simple questions on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being most and 1 least). These included:
- How anxious are you today about having a dental injection?
- How painful was your previous dental injection?
- How painful was today’s injection?
- How did it compare to injections in the past?
Although only a small-scale survey, the results were conclusive: they all said the CALAJECT was a “significant improvement on past experiences”. Naturally the most anxious patients felt the biggest benefit, but across the board almost every patient said it was “a far more pleasant experience” and “they didn’t feel a thing throughout their treatment”.
These positive results came as a surprise as I never believed the CALAJECT would be as good as this. I always thought I was quite good at giving manual injections and didn’t need a machine to help me! Thanks to the trial run I knew that the CALAJECT™ was going to work for me, so I made the purchase.
To read Part 2 of my journey from sceptic to convert, click here.
To find out how you can improve your practice and your patients’ health and wellbeing, click here and we’ll be in touch with our recommended solutions.
Visit www.calaject.co.uk to find out if CALAJECT is the right solution for you.
Keith Preston – Principal Dentist
Coatbridge Family Dental Care
22 Academy Street, Coatbridge ML5 3AU
