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Pharmacology

Local anaesthetic techniques

Infiltration vs blocks — which teeth, landmarks and tips.

IANB approach: needle enters lateral to the pterygomandibular raphe with the syringe over the opposite premolars. Illustration only — check against your training.
IANB approach: needle enters lateral to the pterygomandibular raphe with the syringe over the opposite premolars. Illustration only — check against your training.
  • Buccal infiltration: all maxillary teeth; mandibular incisors (articaine buccal infiltration is often effective for mandibular molars in adults).
  • Inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB): mandibular molars/premolars. Thumb on the coronoid notch; insert lateral to the pterygomandibular raphe, syringe over the opposite premolars, ~1 cm above the occlusal plane; contact bone at ~20–25 mm, withdraw 1 mm, aspirate, inject slowly.
  • Lingual nerve: deposit during withdrawal of the IANB.
  • Long buccal: buccal soft tissue of mandibular molars.
  • Mental / incisive: premolars and anteriors; mental foramen between the premolar apices.
  • Palatal: greater palatine or nasopalatine; slow injection with pressure anaesthesia.
  • Intraligamentary: supplementary; avoid where infection or in primary teeth with developing successors. Technique summarised from standard dental teaching — there is no single official guideline.

Sources

Checked against these sources on 2026-10-22. Guidelines change — open the source to confirm.

Summarised from the sources above. Always verify against current local guidelines and the patient's medical history.

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