Comparison of the efficacy of articaine and prilocaine local anaesthesia for pulpotomy of maxillary and mandibular primary molars

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ABSTRACT

Aim

The aim of this study was to compare the local anaesthetic efficacy of articaine HCl and prilocaine HCl during
an operative procedure after their administration by either mandibular nerve block or maxillary infiltration. MATERIALS AND

Methods

Study design: The study was a double-blind clinical study which comprised 162 children (81 boys and 81 girls),
who required a pulpotomy on their primary molars. Pain-related behaviours were used to assess the severity of pain during
the injection of either prilocaine HCl or articaine HCl and the operative procedures following either a maxillary infiltration or
mandibular nerve block of the two local anaesthetic agents. The frequencies of post-procedural adverse events in the
prilocaine and articaine anaesthetised groups were also determined.

Results

Significantly more discomfort (p<0.05) was observed following maxillary infiltration compared to mandibular nerve block. There were no significant differences in the pain-related behaviours scores between the two local anaesthetic agents administered during the dental operative procedures, except for the removal of the coronal pulp. For this latter procedure, the pain-related behaviour score was 1.5- times higher in the prilocain-anaesthetised children than in the articaine-anaesthetised children. The frequencies of post- procedural adverse events in the prilocaine-treated children were similar to those found in the articaine-treated children.

Conclusion

We concluded that local anaesthesia following mandibular nerve block is more effective than that following
maxillary infiltration in 6-8-year-old children. However, the intensity of pain that was experienced by the children during
administration of either prilocaine or articaine and some of the dental procedures after their administration were
similar.

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