Why do so many dentists and dental hygienists use Profound gel every day, and what does it do?

Topical anesthetics, such as benzocaine gels, may be familiar to you from your dental product supplier. Profound is a compounded topical anesthetic developed especially for dentistry offices by a pharmacist, as opposed to an anesthetic that is mass-produced. The term comes from the mixture of topical anesthetics it contains, which results in a deeper anesthesia.

What is Profound Gel?

Lidocaine, prilocaine, and tetracaine are all common ingredients in Profound gel. In order to retain the anesthetic in the treatment region for longer and lower the possibility of excessive plasma levels of anesthetic, the vasoconstrictor phenylephrine may be added to the formulation. Additionally, it has been demonstrated that phenylephrine has its own anesthetic properties. Only a compounding pharmacy is capable of producing lidocaine, prilocaine, and tetracaine in these concentrations. A formulation that contains only half the potency of each ingredient is another option in addition to these concentrations. Giving this to children or individuals who could be sensitive to the higher strengths may be beneficial.

Although it can also be prepared as an ointment, we typically refer to this mixture as Profound gel. In addition to having a different beyond use date (longer than the gel due to the gel’s water content), the ointment has a different feel that some dentists like.