2021-2022 Pierce College Catalog 
    
    Mar 19, 2024  
2021-2022 Pierce College Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Add to Portfolio (opens a new window)

DHYG 326 Pain Management I: Local Anesthesia (3 credits)



Prerequisite Current enrollment in Bachelor of Applied Science in Dental Hygiene program.

Course Description
This course provides the fundamentals of dental local anesthesia delivery. Students will be introduced to the physiology and pharmacology of dental local anesthesia, elements of pre-anesthesia patient assessment, and devices and injection techniques commonly used in dentistry. Students will practice common injection techniques and experience the effects of a variety of local drugs in lab situations.

Student Outcomes
1. Discuss the evolution of the use of local anesthetics and benchmark products.
2. Identify and discuss relevant anatomy pertinent to dental local anesthesia injections including bony and soft tissue landmarks, muscles, vasculature, and pathways of the Facial and Trigeminal nerves.
3. Demonstrate knowledge of the pharmacology and mechanism of action of local anesthetic agents and commonly used vasoconstrictors.
4. Given a health history and treatment plan, accurately evaluate the patient for suitability for local anesthesia.
5. Demonstrate correct selection of local anesthetic agents and accurate calculation of drug doses for given drugs and patient histories.
6. Discuss and demonstrate knowledge of all components of the local anesthetic armamentarium and devices.
7. Discuss and demonstrate effective patient-operator positioning, safe handling, use, and maintenance of the dental local anesthetic devices.
8. Describe and demonstrate principles for administering safe and effective dental local anesthesia to patients including proper soft tissue retraction, effective fulcrums, hand positioning, and aspiration with during delivery of local anesthetic drugs.
8. Demonstrate clinically acceptable techniques for each injection introduced in lab.
9. Describe and identify common local anesthetic complications and their prevention and treatment.
10.Identify proper symptomatic treatment of medical emergencies related to local anesthesia procedure.



Add to Portfolio (opens a new window)