Which injection would numb the palatal tissue from canine to canine?

• A. Nasopalatine
• B. Greater Palatine
• C. Infraorbital
• D. Inferior Alveolar

Answer: (A)

Numbing the palatal tissue in front (from canine to canine) is achieved by blocking the nasopalatine nerve. This nerve supplies the palatal mucosa and gingiva of the maxillary anterior teeth from canine to canine and runs through the incisive canal to the incisive foramen behind the central incisors. By depositing anesthetic at the incisive papilla, you bathe the nasopalatine nerve as it exits, producing palatal anesthesia in that anterior region. The greater palatine injection covers the posterior hard palate (from molar area forward to the canine region), not the front palatal tissue. Infraorbital and inferior alveolar injections target other areas and don’t reliably anesthetize the anterior palatal mucosa.