Is Inferior Alveolar Nerve Block Sufficient for Routine Dental Treatment in 4- to 6-year-old Children?

Can 4% Articaine Buccal Infiltration Replace Inferior Alveolar Nerve Block (IANB) with 2% Xylocaine for Pulp Therapy in Primary Mandibular Molars? A Systematic Review

Aim and objective

This systematic review aims to compare the efficacy of 4% articaine buccal supraperiosteal/infiltration to that of inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) with 2% xylocaine in providing pulpal anesthesia for carrying out pulp therapy of deciduous mandibular molars in children.

Materials and methods

PubMed, Cochrane Registry, and Ovid SP were searched in the timeframe between years 1991 and 2020 with appropriate MeSH terms. Full texts were selected only after a preliminary screening of relevant titles and abstracts.

Results

Five studies were involved for the final qualitative analysis. The parameter sought for was "Pain during pulp therapy after injection with buccal supraperiosteal/infiltration (4% articaine) or IANB (2% lignocaine) in primary mandibular molars. Three studies evaluated objective pain (operator reported) during pulp therapy, reported significantly lower pain scores with articaine buccal infiltration (BI). Among the two studies that evaluated subjective pain, one study reported a significantly lower pain score with the articaine BI group. The other study reported no difference statistically between both groups.

Conclusion

Under the bounds of this systematic review, BI with 4% articaine might be equivalent to IANB with 2% lignocaine for providing pulpal anesthesia required for pulp therapy procedures in primary mandibular molars; however, the quality of evidence is low, more number of well-controlled studies with adequate sized sample should be conducted out to verify the same.

How to cite this article

Tirupathi SP, Rajasekhar S, Ganesh M, et al. Can 4% Articaine Buccal Infiltration Replace Inferior Alveolar Nerve Block (IANB) with 2% Xylocaine for Pulp Therapy in Primary Mandibular Molars? A Systematic Review. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2021;14(3):420-425.

The effect of pre-anesthesia with a needle-free system versus topical anesthesia on injection pain of the inferior alveolar nerve block: a randomized clinical trial

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of pain control between a needle-free system and topical anesthesia applied prior to inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The present study was designed as a randomized controlled cross-over clinical study on 60 children (aged 6 to 12 years) requiring dental treatment with IANB in bilateral mandibular molars. As pre-anesthesia, topical anesthesia (TA) was applied on one side and the Comfort-in™ injection system (CIS) on the other side in two separate sessions before IANB. The injection pain during IANB, at both the needle insertion and solution deposition phases, was analyzed using the Wong-Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale (PRS) and the Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability Scale (FLACC). The data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, Spearman correlation, and Mann-Whitney U test.

RESULTS

There were statistically significant differences between TA and CIS in subjective and objective pain evaluations during both the needle insertion and solution deposition. The use of a needle-free system in pre-anesthesia yielded a significant decrease in subjective and objective pain scores (p < 0.001). No statistical difference was found between TA and CIS in terms of patient preference, but patient preference for CIS was significantly higher in older patients (p < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

It was determined that the use of a needle-free system in pre-anesthesia yielded a decrease in injection pain of IANB.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Pediatric dentists should be aware of the new injection system in order to decrease the level of injection pain.