Lesson 3: Neurotransmission in dental treatments
- Specialised sensory nerves called nociceptors detect tissue damage.
- Triggers action potentials which propagate along the sensory neuron to the brain via
the spinal cord an synapses
- Local anaesthetics stop action potentials to prevent pain
- Their molecular target are voltage gated sodium ion channels
- The drug blocks the channel pore and prevents entry of sodium ions and the initiation
of an action potential
- Life threatening effects are minimised by applying drugs to a localised region
- The local conc of an anaesthetic required to block the action potential in a sensory
nerve is 0.1 - 1mM. The lethal systemic plasma conc is 40-60 micrometres
Anaesthesia
- Local anaesthetic molecules consist of an aromatic head linked to a basic side chain
by an amide or an ester bond
- Those with ester bonds are destroyed by hydrolysis
- Local anaesthetic are weak bases with a pka value of 8
- At physiological ph the drugs exist both in their ionised and unionised form
,
- Specialised sensory nerves called nociceptors detect tissue damage.
- Triggers action potentials which propagate along the sensory neuron to the brain via
the spinal cord an synapses
- Local anaesthetics stop action potentials to prevent pain
- Their molecular target are voltage gated sodium ion channels
- The drug blocks the channel pore and prevents entry of sodium ions and the initiation
of an action potential
- Life threatening effects are minimised by applying drugs to a localised region
- The local conc of an anaesthetic required to block the action potential in a sensory
nerve is 0.1 - 1mM. The lethal systemic plasma conc is 40-60 micrometres
Anaesthesia
- Local anaesthetic molecules consist of an aromatic head linked to a basic side chain
by an amide or an ester bond
- Those with ester bonds are destroyed by hydrolysis
- Local anaesthetic are weak bases with a pka value of 8
- At physiological ph the drugs exist both in their ionised and unionised form
,
