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3. Give a second injection BESIDE the back teeth.
If you are going to fill or remove a
back tooth, inject beside that tooth,
where the cheek joins the gum.
Inject .5 ml of local anesthetic
(¼ of a cartridge).
This injection is not needed for front
teeth. It is enough to block the main nerve.
4. Wait 5 minutes for the tooth to become numb.
Take time with children
1. Put some topical anesthetic on the
gum before you inject. But be sure
the gums are dry in that place. If you
wipe the gum with cotton, the topical
anesthetic will stay on longer. Give
the anesthetic time to work: wait a
minute before injecting.
If you do not have topical
anesthetic, try using pressure.
You can use ‘pressure anesthesia’
whenever you have to give an
injection in a sensitive place, like the
roof of the mouth.
Wind some cotton around the end
of a match-stick. Press firmly for
a minute behind the bad, tooth. Then inject quickly into the
depression that formed where you pressed.
2. Be sure the anesthetic is warm when you inject it. Hold the
cartridge or bottle in your hands for a few minutes before you use it.
3. Use a new, sharp needle.
4. Have someone pass you the syringe out of sight of the child. Then
the child will not have to look at it and be frightened.
5. Be ready to stop the child from grabbing the syringe.
6. Inject the anesthetic slowly. Do not hurry. A too-quick injection can
cause sudden pressure, which hurts and frightens the child.