With regional anaesthesia, your anaesthetist injects local anaesthetic drugs through a needle that is placed close to the nerve or nerves that supply the area of the body where the surgeon will operate. Local anaesthetic drugs block the impulses of nerves temporarily, so that sensations are not carried to the brain. Before inserting the regional anaesthetic needle, the anaesthetist often applies a local anaesthetic cream to the skin or injects a small amount of local anaesthetic into the skin and tissues, so that inserting the needle is less uncomfortable.

A dentist uses regional anaesthesia when he/she injects local anaesthetic into the nerves supplying sensation to your teeth and gums. Because the nerve also supplies sensation to other areas, including the skin of the face, those areas are also affected.

Regional anaesthesia is not always the sole method of anaesthesia, and is often combined with sedation or general anaesthesia. In children especially, it is usual to use regional anaesthesia with general anaesthesia.