PRODUCT:
Cyclone/Cyclone DS

SOURCE:
Steven’s Pharmacy
Costa Mesa, Calif.
1-800-352-DRUG

We offer Cyclone DS to almost anyone having something done who is not getting local anesthesia.

If you can remember about 10 years ago, there was a product named Dyclone, which was a topical anesthetic in liquid form that patients could swish with for one minute to anesthetize gingival and palatal tissues. It was fantastic for hygiene patients who need some anesthesia, but don’t want local infiltrations or blocks. It also worked well for needle-phobic sensitive hygiene patients, and for patients who gag during impressions. I searched the FDA database and found that the company decided to stop producing for their own reasons. The FDA verified that it had nothing to do with the safety or efficacy of the product.

Steven’s Pharmacy’s replacement product is called Cyclone and it is available in the original strength that we used to use, 0.5%, and also in a double-strength solution called Cyclone DS that is a 1.0% solution. We have settled on the Cyclone DS as our choice because we have noticed no difference between the two solutions, except that the Cyclone DS works better on most patients.

We use it on anyone who is worried about having impressions taken, whether it is for Invisalign^® (Align Technology, Inc.; Santa Clara, Calif.) or bleaching trays or even just study models. We use it on full arch crowns and bridge impressions when we are worried about the patient gagging while we try to capture the detail of multiple preps. We will even use it prior to taking our digital X-rays on patients who are worried about gagging.

On the hygiene side, we use it for periodontal probing for patients with inflammation as well as for gross debridement patients who are sensitive. We see a lot of patients who are overdue for hygiene but do not need scaling and root planing. Because we typically only use local anesthetic for our root planing patients, Cyclone helps fill the gap by being an easy-to-use topical that provides peace of mind for the patients.

The bottom line is that we offer Cyclone to almost anyone having something done who is not getting local anesthesia. We do not charge for this service, although there are dentists who have told me that they charge a small fee for it (typically $5.00) and that patients are happy to pay it.

We don’t charge for local anesthetic, of course, and we feel that this falls into the same category.