Syringe modification could reduce injection pain

A syringe modification, which promises reduced pain for dental injections, has won a major innovation award for its creators. The syringe cartridge works by reducing the acidity of the injection by mixing in a neutralizing liquid just before the injection is delivered.

Invented by John Meechan, BDS, PhD, and his team at Newcastle University, the syringe technology won in the overall Dental and Oral Health section at the Medical Futures Innovation Awards.

Much of the pain from injections comes from their acidity, a preservation measure.

"Our innovation simply allows neutralizing the acidity of the local anesthetics by mixing it with a buffer that is contained in the same carpule as the anesthetic," Dr. Meachan told DrBicuspid.com. "While buffering is not a new concept, our innovation allows buffering in a one component system by having the local anesthetic and buffer in the same carpule."

The team is currently at the prototyping stage. "We still need to develop a preproduction prototype, so we are in the early days of this process," he noted.