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Dentists will administer local anesthesia without injections
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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Some patients cannot imagine dental procedures without an anesthetic injection. However, injections are not always possible either – many are afraid of just the sight of a needle. What to do?
Scientists have found a way out of the situation and created a new drug in the form of a spray, which contains the anesthetic substance kovanaze: from now on, an injection for pain relief during tooth extraction is not needed, since it is enough to spray the anesthetic into the nasal cavity a couple of times.
The latest product was developed by employees of the company "St. Renatus", based on the previously invented spray with tetrocaine - such a spray was successfully used by doctors before performing surgical intervention on the internal nasal septum.
Professor of dentistry Mark Kollar noticed when using the spray that not only the nose and face, but also the upper and lower jaws were anesthetized. The resourceful doctor immediately realized that a similar remedy could be tried in dental treatment.
The anesthetic kovanaze is a drug that combines the active ingredient tetracaine and the decongestant oxymetazoline. The expert committee has approved the use of this drug for local anesthesia before dental procedures in people weighing more than 40 kg. The new anesthetic has not yet been tested in pediatric patients, but scientists are already planning such experiments.
"The spray we've invented will help make the experience of visiting a dentist easier for many people. It's no secret that for many patients, especially children, visiting a dentist is stressful. At the same time, many patients are afraid not only of the procedures themselves, but also of the injection into the gum," says Eliot Hersh, DDS, University of Pennsylvania, one of the observers of the clinical testing of the spray.
Details of the clinical trials are described in the popular science journal of the American Dental Association. The publication states that before surgical operations for dental diseases, the test participants received two injections of the drug kovanaze. A time interval of four minutes was maintained between injections: this was quite enough for high-quality and effective local anesthesia. Only in some cases did patients have to undergo a third injection.
One hundred and fifty volunteers took part in testing the new drug. Almost 90% of them spoke positively about the anesthetic, recognizing it as an effective remedy.
For two hours after the anesthesia, specialists monitored the patients' well-being and possible occurrence of side effects. Monitoring was also conducted the following day after the experiment. It was found that some participants had temporary nasal congestion or watery discharge. However, such symptoms were transient and did not pose a health hazard.
The next step for scientists will be to test the new anesthetic in pediatric practice.
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