The effects of 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine on pulpal and gingival blood flow.
OBJECTIVE
The dental pulp is a low-compliance system that is particularly vulnerable to physiologic changes. Prolonged vasoconstriction may have detrimental effects. This goal of this study was to determine whether 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine, as used for buccal infiltration, decreases the blood flow in the dental pulp and adjacent gingival tissue.


METHODS
The Periflux PF3 laser Doppler monitored pulpal and gingival blood flow before and after injection with local anesthetic. Ten human volunteers with at least one healthy and unrestored maxillary premolar were used in this study.


RESULTS
After injection of 0.9 ml of 2% lidocaine with epinephrine, there was a significant reduction from baseline values (p > 0.05) in both pulpal (73%) and gingival (51%) blood flow rate in all volunteers. Blood flow had not returned to baseline values after 1 hour.


CONCLUSIONS
This study showed that 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine significantly reduced blood flow pulpally and gingivally. Pulpal blood flow reduction was more than gingival blood flow reduction, which may be critical for compromised pulps with already reduced blood flow. The gingival effects may be of relevance with soft tissue procedures.
Ahn
J
J
School of Dentistry, University of California, San Francisco, USA.
Pogrel
M A
MA
D000328:Adult; D000779:Anesthetics, Local / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000187:drug effects*; D003782:Dental Pulp / Q000098:blood supply*; D004837:Epinephrine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D005881:Gingiva / Q000098:blood supply*; D006801:Humans; D017078:Laser-Doppler Flowmetry; D008012:Lidocaine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014662:Vasoconstrictor Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*
D000779:Anesthetics, Local; D014662:Vasoconstrictor Agents; D008012:Lidocaine; D004837:Epinephrine