M.A.T.E. Module 3: Myths and Truths About Local Anesthesia by Jason H. Goodchild, DMD

Effective June 27, 2023 as a part of the Medication Access and Training Expansion (MATE) Act, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) requires that health practitioners who apply for or renew their Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registration to prescribe controlled substances must attest they have completed a one-time, eight-hour training by checking a box on their online DEA application form. The deadline for satisfying this new training requirement is the date of a practitioner’s initial application for DEA registration or their next scheduled DEA registration renewal. The intention of the MATE Act is standardizing substance use disorder (SUD) training and to ensure that all prescribers of addictive medications possess baseline knowledge in evidence-based addiction treatments and prevention. For dentists this one-time, eight-hour curriculum must address “safe pharmacological management of dental pain and screening, brief intervention, and referral for appropriate treatment of patients with or at risk of developing opioid and other substance use disorders.

In Module 3 of this series we will discuss how to effectively manage intraoperative dental pain with local anesthesia. Achieving profound and effective local anesthesia is essential in clinical practice. It is a limiting step in most procedures; meaning invasive procedures cannot commence until it is successfully achieved. Despite the frequency that oral health providers (ie, dentists and hygienists) use local anesthetics during clinical practice, misconceptions remain. The goal of this presentation is to discuss several common ‘myths’ surrounding local anesthesia while incorporating literature-supported learning issues.