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Profile in Oral Health Trisha E. O’Hehir, RDH, BS Editorial Director, Hygienetown

More by this author (282)

Kathy B. Bassett and Doreen K. Naughton, co-authors of the new textbook Local Anesthesia for Dental Professionals, discuss the amount of collaboration and effort it took to develop a local anesthesia text written for educators charged with teaching local anesthesia.


by Trisha E. O’Hehir, RDH, BS
Editorial Director, Hygienetown


Local anesthesia was first made legal for administration by dental hygienists in 1971 with a law change in Washington State. Since then, 44 out of 50 states have changed dental practice acts to include local anesthesia for dental hygienists. Only a handful of state boards of dental examiners have not approved this practice, despite nearly 40 years of successful and safe administration of local anesthesia by dental hygienists. The scientific evidence shows that local anesthesia in the hands of dental hygienists is very safe. Patients are highly receptive, and it is a win-win for patients, dentists and hygienists.

It’s only fitting that the newest textbook on this subject is written by two hygienists and a dentist from Washington State. Local Anesthesia for Dental Professionals, provides a text for both clinicians and dental and dental hygiene students of local anesthesia. Kathy B. Bassett, RDH, BSDH, MEd, was the team leader for this project that also included Arthur C. DiMarco, DMD, and Doreen K. Naughton, RDH, BSDH. All three are clinicians as well as educators with many years of teaching local anesthesia both in the state of Washington and across the country.

Kathy Bassett is professor at Pierce College in Lakewood, Washington, where she teaches local anesthesia and restorative expanded functions. Dr. DiMarco is on the faculty of the University of Washington and Eastern Washington University and is the director of the RIDE Program, providing dental courses to students based in the Eastern part of the state, during their first and fourth years of dental school with the University of Washington. Doreen Naughton owns her own company, Dental Hygiene Health Services, providing dental hygiene care to nursing home residents. She is also an affiliate faculty member at the University of Washington.

This 400-page textbook has all new photographs, diagrams and helpful charts – no more old, reused photos or diagrams. It also includes chapter questions, an appendix for anatomy review, and an in-depth glossary. It’s perfect for educators, complete with access to a Web site with chapter lesson plans, editable PowerPoint slide presentations, video clips, a test bank of 1,000 questions, student activities and a online student study guide.

The photography is innovative and combines images with overlays that highlight the features being presented. Students of dental hygiene and graphic design were part of the creative team working on this project.

Kathy, did you always want to write a textbook on local anesthesia?
Bassett: It was never my goal to write a textbook. Five years ago, the local Pearson representative came by my office at Pierce College, in Lakewood, Washington, to see what textbooks we needed or were interested in. He asked if I could wish for a new text in any area, what would it be. Without hesitation, I said, “I’d love to have a local anesthesia text that was written for educators charged with teaching local anesthesia. Something to include case studies, consistent photographs, an ample test bank and ancillary material to help both educators and students. It would be a time saver for educators, with ready to use editable PowerPoint presentations and video clips to tie in with the book.”

“Great idea!” he said and then asked me if I wanted to write it. Well, truthfully, it was never my idea or my goal to write a book, but when asked, I said, “Let me think about it.” I’d been teaching local anesthesia for years and I knew what I wanted, so I thought why not get a group together to write the book.

How did the project begin?
Bassett: First I called Art and Doreen and said, “I’ve got an idea.” Using the template of our local anesthesia courses, the book project began. Our amazing team evolved as the project took shape, with the three of us as the core team. We had all taught local anesthesia for many years and worked together in different projects over the years, so this project seems like a good fit.

How had you worked together before writing the book?
Bassett: Doreen and I have taught many courses together and have a similar approach to teaching local anesthesia. Art and I had also done some projects and teaching together and he taught local anesthesia to both dental and dental hygiene students. We wanted both the dental hygiene and the dental perspective to come together in the book and invited Dr. DiMarco to work with us. He challenged us to take the book deeper into the science of local anesthesia, which is an important part of the book. He is a joy to work with and a phenomenal asset to the team.

Doreen, I know you’ve been working in nursing homes for the past 21 years, restricted by law from administering local anesthesia. How did you get interested in teaching local anesthesia?
Naughton: I’ve been providing dental hygiene services in nursing homes, and because it was in a setting without a dentist present, I was not allowed to use local anesthesia. In order to keep up my skills, I’ve taught local anesthesia courses in Washington and in other states. It has been a great way to practice and stay current on local anesthesia.

How did you fit such a huge project into your busy lives?
Naughton: Others who have written textbooks warned us that it would be a full-time job, but we couldn’t quit our day jobs, so it became a second job for each us, with many late nights and weeks of time away from family and friends to get it done.

All three of you live in different cities in Washington. That must have made collaboration difficult. How did you work together?
Naughton: Our team worked extremely well together, despite living miles apart. We connected via telephone, e-mail and often spent a week at a time at one of our homes, working round the clock to get the chapters written. We all carried the project forward together, despite serious life experiences in each of our families during the years of the project. It was definitely a team effort.

The photographs, videos and drawings are all new, nothing from old textbooks. How did you do that?
Bassett: I asked a close friend to do the photography. I knew he could understand what we wanted and he worked very hard to get the shots we needed. When he was no longer available to help us complete the graphic design work, my daughter suggested I seek out student interns from Pierce College’s graphic design program, who would be interested in working on the project. We worked with a very talented group of students who created all our base drawings, graphic enhancements, photographic overlays and video clips. Their excitement and commitment to the project was amazing. They were great to work with and share now in our excitement in seeing the finished textbook. The same goes for the past two years of graduating dental hygienists, who got involved with the project and watched it come to life.

Did you come across any interesting information as you wrote this text?
Naughton: We found out that many of the products listed in other textbooks are no longer available. This surprised us, and reminded us how important it was to check all our facts and resources.

How did you feel when you held a copy of your completed book the first time?
Naughton: I was so excited, I just had to share it with someone, but when the book arrived by mail at my home, I knew I couldn’t call Kathy because she was working, so I called a close friend who came right over to see it. This is exciting and something to share with others.
Bassett: I was so excited to have the completed book in my hands, to reflect on all the work, the time and effort put into it by all of is, I just cried.
A look inside the book at the table of contents:
Section I Pain Control Concepts
Local Anesthesia in Dentistry: Past Present, and Future
Fundamentals of Pain Management
The Neuroanatomy and Neurophysiology of Pain Control

Section II Pharmacology of Local Anesthetic Pain Control
Pharmacology Basics
Dental Local Anesthetic Drugs
Vasoconstrictors in Dentistry
Dose Calculations for Local Anesthetic Solutions
Topical Anesthetics

Section III Injection Fundamentals
Local Anesthetic Delivery Devices
Patient Assessment for Local Anesthesia
Fundamentals for Administration of Local Anesthetic Agents

Section IV Clinical Administration of Local Anesthesia
Injections for Maxillary Pain Control
Injections for Palatal Pain Control
Injections for Mandibular Pain Control
Injections for Supplemental Pain Control
Troubleshooting Inadequate Anesthesia
Local Anesthesia Complications and Management

Section V Special Considerations for Local Anesthesia
Insights for the Fearful Patient
Insights from Pedodontics
Insights from Specialties:
     Oral Surgery
     Periodontics
     Endodontics

Author's Bios

Kathy B. Bassett, RDH, BSDH, MEd is Professor and Clinical Coordinator in the Dental Hygiene Program at Pierce College in Lakewood, Washington, where she is the course lead for Local Anesthesia. She has more than 20 years of experience teaching local anesthesia and more than 30 years of clinical experience with local anesthesia and restorative expanded functions. Kathy has taught many “train the trainer” courses for dental hygiene faculty across the country as they integrated local anesthesia into their school curriculums.


Arthur C. DiMarco, DMD is the Director of the RIDE Program, associate professor in the Department of Dental Hygiene at Eastern Washington University in Spokane, WA, and Affiliate Faculty in the School of Dentistry at the University of Washington in Seattle. Dr. DiMarco is the course director for the Pain Control curriculum at EWU and has authored the Local Anesthesia Laboratory Manual. He recently completed research on the value of the anterior middle superior alveolar nerve block.


Doreen K. Naughton, RDH, BSDH is an Affiliate Instructor in the department of Public Health Sciences in the School of Dentistry at the University of Washington in Seattle. For the past 21 years she has been the sole proprietor of Dental Hygiene Health Services, providing dental hygiene care to nursing home residents in the Seattle area. Doreen taught the dental hygiene pre-license examination course in local anesthesia and restorative functions for six years at the U of W. She and has taught a variety of continuing education topics, including local anesthesia “train the trainer” courses along with Kathy Bassett.
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September 2025
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