The Dental Head Start Podcast Dental Mentoring Series #2 – Mastering Local Anaesthesia: Patient Comfort and Technique
Hosted by Dr David Keir
Everyone’s talking about it. Everybody wants a mentor. That’s what they’re looking for when they graduate. Who’s your mentor, and are you putting the effort in? This is the dental mentoring sessions podcast by dental Head Start, real world mentoring every fortnight. I’m Dr David Keir, a practice owner, mentor and someone who’s been exactly where you are. The goal of this podcast is to share real world lessons I’ve learned and discussions I’ve had while mentoring my team, but why keep that behind closed doors? We want to help dental students and graduates become great dentists. So we’re turning what we do week in week out into a fortnightly podcast for you all to benefit from. But I don’t claim to know it all. Everything I share comes from years of absorbing information, making mistakes and being mentored by some of the best in the field, and I’ll try to reference those great mentors along the way. If you’re a young dentist wanting to grow and you’re putting the work in, then this is for you.
In this episode of the Dental Mentoring Series, we dive deep into one of the most critical yet often overlooked aspects of dental treatment: local anaesthesia. As dentists, we know our technical skills matter, but patients primarily remember how we made them feel. I’ll share practical techniques to make local anaesthesia more comfortable, discuss strategies for managing patient anxiety, and provide insights that can transform your approach to this fundamental dental procedure. Whether you’re a dental student or a young practitioner, these tips will help you create a more positive patient experience
Key moments
0:07:18 – Importance of doing anaesthesia correctly the first time
0:11:22 – Techniques for managing anxious patients, especially children
0:15:22 – Advanced anaesthesia techniques (intraosseous, intraligamentary)
0:17:45 – Discussion on how infection affects local anesthesia effectiveness
0:18:30 – Closing remarks on patient perception and communication
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