Think back to when you were young and your parents took you to the dentist. Whether you had to be drug there or went with little complaint, most kids didn’t particularly enjoy spending time at the tooth doc’s office (**exception: picking out a toothbrush and a toy at the end of a visit!). According to Dentistry Today as many as 19.5% of school age children are afraid of the dentist, so when it comes to doing a pediatric procedure other than a standard cleaning, the odds of keeping a young patient calm can be against you.
Thankfully, though, there are a number of flavorful solutions available through Patterson Dental that can help alleviate this issue! Topical anesthetic gels are fast acting and provide temporary pain relief to patients of all ages during procedures ranging from scaling to impression taking.
TOPICAL ANESTHETICS: OPTION OVERLOAD!
When it comes to topical anesthetics, you may find yourself overwhelmed with the amount of different options you have. Flavors, applications, ____-caines, gels, sprays…the market is saturated with all sorts of products to choose from. On the flip side, this means there’s undoubtedly a topical anesthetic on the market to fit your specific needs. If it’s an anesthetic that provides patients with a high-quality, effective, comfortable, and overall pleasant experience you’re after, look no further than Patterson’s own 20% Benzocaine Topical Anesthetic Gel.
PATTERSON TOPICAL ANESTHETIC GEL
Patterson 20% Benzocaine Topical Anesthetic Gel – Shop
First and foremost, the flavor options available with this product are plentiful, and the tastes translate faithfully from label to mouth. There are nine different flavors in total, and they include the highly popular Strawberry, along with Cherry, Pina Colada, Mint, Bubble Gum, Grape, Mango, Raspberry, and Banana. It may not initially seem like a chief selling point, but when a patient has any amount of anxiety over a procedure that’s about to take place, the chance to pick out a pleasant favorite flavor can do wonders to calm nerves. Besides offering patient-approved flavors, Patterson’s anesthetic gel also avoids leaving any bitter aftertaste, which often occurs with comparable products from other brands.
Its consistency is yet another differentiator of this product. Whereas some gels tend to become runny, Patterson topical gel is easy to control and won’t run off the gums. This is an especially important feature to seek in a topical gel when working on patients with ulcers, sores, or wounds, which makes this gel perfect for comforting visitors with these types of mouth irritations.
As with most dental products, cost often plays a deciding factor in a practice’s end choice. Most 1oz jars of topical anesthetics which contain benzocaine as the main ingredient are similar in price. But what happens when lidocaine gets thrown into the mix?
A study from the University of Texas Health Science Center showed that topical benzocaine was just as effective as topical lidocaine for patients receiving intraoral needle injections, and that both were significantly effective in reducing pain. Since anesthetics which contain lidocaine tend to be more expensive than benzocaine, it may be wise to consider whether it would truly be worth paying more for a product that produces the same results, but doesn’t have a multitude of pleasant flavors.
TIMING IS EVERYTHING…
School is now out for the summer, which means lots of school age children will be coming in for visits! If your office plans to treat these youngsters, chances are you’ll encounter a fair amount of the 19.5% that experience dental anxiety. That’s why, throughout the month of July, we’ve activated a buy 3, Get 1 offer on Patterson’s 20% benzocaine topical anesthetic gel.
If you designate this product as your practice’s topical anesthetic of choice, you’ll be selecting a cost-effective gel whose results both you and your patients will enjoy. This product paves the way for young patients to begin overcoming dental anxiety and fear, and returning to your office for years to come. So: are you gellin’? Let us know in the comments below!
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