METHOD OF DENTAL TISSUE INJECTION USING AN ARRAY OF MICRO-NEEDLES

摘要

Disclosed are methods for injecting a local anesthetic into dental tissues, such as tough, dense ligamentary tissue adjacent to a patient's tooth. According to one embodiment, the method involves puncturing a patient's gingival tissue adjacent a selected tooth (90) with an array of micro-needles (108) having a length so that the micro-needles (108) penetrate into ligamentary tissue adjacent to the tooth (90). A local anesthetic is then injected through the micro-needles (108) so as to deliver the local anesthetic to the tissue surrounding the tooth (90). The micro-needles (108) may be short to limit penetration through tissue and of narrow diameter to minimize pain and discomfort to the patient.