Written: November 2012

The Wand (CompuDent or STA system)

What is it?

The Wand is essentially a computer-controlled dental injection. The flow rate of the local anaesthetic is controlled by a computer. This means that the injection is guaranteed to be slow and steady and therefore comfortable.

Even though Milestone Scientific – the manufacturers of the Wand – now call their products CompuDent and STA (Single Tooth Anesthesia) System, we’ll still call it the Wand here – because a lot of people with needle phobia describe it as their “Magic Wand”!

Most people who have had a bad experience with injections think that needles sting because the skin is pierced, but this is usually not so! Most often, the sting was caused because the anesthetic was fired in too quickly. Obviously, it is possible for the dentist to control the speed with a standard syringe, but the idea of the Wand is to take out the “human error”. This can be very reassuring for people with previous bad experiences.

What does the Wand look like?

It simply doesn’t look like a syringe! Welcome to the space age…

As you can see in the photo, the “hardware” looks similar to a miniature computer tower.

On the top of the little tower sits a cartridge with local anaesthetic. A tube connects this to a pen-like handpiece (which does sport a needle. You’ve gotta get the sleepy juice in there somehow, but the needle is very tiny.)

The handpiece device looks just like a ball point pen (see below).

What people on our forum have said about the Wand:

“…a little spray to numb the gums then a few minutes slowly injecting small doses of anaesthetic through the computerised outlet system and I didn’t feel a thing!…My fear of needles is now a thing of the past.” (from “The Magic Wand”)

“when it comes to the actual fear of needles..well one thing i have found that helps the most with that is a numbing machine called ‘the wand’.”

“Not only was it painless, but it worked better than the usual injections. For anyone afraid of needles or injections, I can’t say enough good things about this system.”

“I didn’t even flinch when he did the freezing with The Wand…it was barely noticible! Just like many have indicated here, the Wand is truly something every dentist needs. Sure, some dentists feel its not necessary, but the regular syringes are scary!”

“The wand is truly awesome – it has totally changed my attitude towards visiting the dentists… I was going to have IV sedation but have now decided i’ll be ok with just the wand!”

“It looks like a pen and it’s wicked!”

“Fortunately, I found a dentist who caters to needle-phobics. He uses the wand, as well as “syringes” that don’t look like needles. I knew a shot was coming, but because I didn’t see it, I didn’t panic. It was brilliant, and the most painless injection I’ve ever had.”

“The wand is a gift from god.”