Sometimes, it just takes someone with a great idea to come up with a great product. You don’t necessarily have to have bells and whistles or high tech processors to make it shine.
Such is the case with the Dentipatch. It’s such a god idea, you’ll wonder why it wasn’t thought up years ago. Dentipatch is exactly what the name implies—it is an adhesive patch that adheres to dry gingival tissues. You simply peel off a rigid plastic coating on one side of the patch. It’s sticky on that side and that’s the side you apply to the tissue area.
Dentipatch is infused with lidocaine. It releases anesthetic transmucosally, or though the mucous membranes in the mouth. However, there are limitations to what the Dentipatch can do.
First, the patch won’t stick to wet areas in the mouth. Second, the area can’t be moving around or the patch flies off. Third, the amount of lidocaine infused is, at best, a pre-anesthetic; it is unlikely to be enough anesthesia for most any operative procedure.
Finally, the patch works best where the bone is cancellous and thin. This means the Dentipatch is best used in the upper anterior buccal corridor of the mouth. A local anesthetic injection can then be given after the application of the Dentipatch.
The patch need only be in place for around two minutes for the anesthetic effect to work. What is completely gratifying about Dentipatch in the upper anterior area is how comfortable an injection before a local anesthetic can be. If the Dentipatch is used, particularly with topical gel and a slow injection, the chance of getting a completely comfortable injection is, in my opinion, 90% or greater.
Dentipatch can be useful with patients who are getting a first upper anterior procedure or injection. Can Dentipatch be used elsewhere in the mouth? Yes, but the effect is not as great, particularly for a lower block where a good deal of tissue has to be penetrated.
When one compares alternatives like lidocaine guns or just the use of a topical anesthetic, the advantage of the Dentipatch is readily apparent. It is not a costly product, and it will certainly be a WOW factor for those patients who hate those upper anterior “shots.”
