Lidocaine has been the standard local anesthetic used in dentistry since 1948. Dr. Jason Goodchild, who has spent nearly three decades studying pain management and local anesthesia, calls it the home run -- the solution that solved almost every problem that came before it.
What it never solved was the taste. When even a small amount of solution reaches the mouth during a periodontal ligament injection, an infiltration, or a block, patients get a bitter, unpleasant sensation that has been a persistent minor complaint.
Septodont spent roughly eight years trying to fix it. The result is Flavalta -- flavored lidocaine -- and Goodchild was the first person in the world to be injected with it.
Lidocaine has been the standard local anesthetic used in dentistry since 1948. Dr. Jason Goodchild, who has spent nearly three decades studying pain management and local anesthesia, calls it the home run -- the solution that solved almost every problem that came before it.
What it never solved was the taste. When even a small amount of solution reaches the mouth during a periodontal ligament injection, an infiltration, or a block, patients get a bitter, unpleasant sensation that has been a persistent minor complaint.
Septodont spent roughly eight years trying to fix it. The result is Flavalta -- flavored lidocaine -- and Goodchild was the first person in the world to be injected with it.
In this episode of The DrBicuspid.com Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Kevin Henry sits down with Goodchild -- a clinical researcher, lecturer, and one of dentistry's most recognized voices on anesthesia -- to discuss Flavalta, Septodont's first new lidocaine innovation in 25 years. The formulation uses two additives: L-serine, a naturally occurring amino acid, and sodium saccharin. Formulating those two ingredients to work together in a way that improved the taste -- without adversely affecting the anesthetic performance -- took a significant amount of development time, and Goodchild explains why the result is worth the wait.
The saccharin conversation is addressed. Many clinicians recall the 1970s studies linking saccharin to bladder cancer in rats -- studies that resulted in warning labels that appeared on pink sweetener packets for decades. Goodchild walks through the science that completely overturned those findings and the passage of the Saccharin Notice Repeal Act in 2000. He also discusses the relevant scale comparison between the two: the amount of saccharin in a Flavalta cartridge is approximately 30 times less than a single pink packet and 100 times less than a Tab soda.
On the clinical side, Goodchild identifies three patient populations where Flavalta is likely to make the most meaningful difference: children, patients with special needs, and anxious or fearful adults -- the patients for whom the injection experience carries high emotional weight. He also addresses a question every clinician will have: Do you get ahead of the taste change by telling patients, or do you simply switch and let the product speak for itself?
Flavalta is available through Septodont.
Listen to the full conversation below.