Achieving pulpal anesthesia with a topical anesthetic paste

Abstract

Aim: The efficacy of a topically applied formulation of tetracaine base (6%) was investigated against benzocaine in achieving pulpal anesthesia in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study. Materials and Methods: Subjects′ baseline pulpal responses to an electric pulp tester were measured, followed by a 10 min application of either tetracaine anesthetic paste (TAP), benzocaine (20%), or placebo. Treatments were removed and pulp testing was performed at 10 min, 15 min, and 20 min postapplication. Results: TAP produced significant pulpal anesthesia at 184% ± 7.2% above baseline versus 14% ± 1.7% above baseline for benzocaine at 15 min (P < 0.03). Differences between treatments were tested with the Wilcoxon test and the Steel-Dwass test, which is the nonparametric version of the all-pairs Tukey′s honestly significant difference test. Conclusion: Achieving profound anesthesia with a topical anesthetic paste could lead to injection less procedure, improved postsurgical incisional pain management, and ameliorate pain associated with a variety of lesions.

Keywords

• Anesthetic, orofacial pain, pulp, topical