Evaluation of a transoral delivery system for topical anesthesia.
BACKGROUND
The development of bioadhesives has allowed for the creation of a novel transoral topical anesthesia delivery system used to alleviate pain by needlestick injections and select dental procedures.


METHODS
Sixty subjects evaluated the effectiveness of a lidocaine-containing bioadhesive patch, or L-BP, to alleviate pain caused by needlesticks, or Ns, with or without injection, and with scaling and root planing, or Sc/RP, instrumentation. The authors topically administered a commonly used benzocaine-containing gel, or B-G, preparation to analogous sites for direct comparison. Subjects rated their degree of pain/discomfort using verbal pain score, or VPS, measurements.


RESULTS
Paired t tests and signed ranked tests revealed that the subjects' perception of pain was significantly reduced after the application of L-BP with placebo (P < .01) for both Ns and Sc/RP but was not significantly reduced by B-G with placebo. L-BP also significantly reduced the subjects' perception of pain caused by Ns and Sc/RP when compared directly with B-G (P < .01). The resultant tissue anesthesia by L-BP significantly reduced pain to Ns with or without anesthetic injection using 25- and 27-gauge needles. However, Ns in conjunction with anesthetic injections generated significantly greater pain than that caused by Ns alone (P < .01). VPS score differences between 25- and 27-gauge needles were not found.


CONCLUSIONS
This study found that a lidocaine-containing bioadhesive system delivering topical anesthesia was highly effective in alleviating pain/discomfort arising from Ns, with and without concomitant injection, and select Sc/RP procedures.


CONCLUSIONS
A new topical delivery system that effectively anesthetizes oral tissues may prove highly useful in allaying patient anxieties about and fear of select dental procedures.
Carr
M P
MP
Division of Dental Hygiene, College of Dentistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus 43218, USA. carr3@osu.edu
Horton
J E
JE
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000766:Anesthesia, Dental / Q000379:methods*; D000772:Anesthesia, Local / Q000379:methods*; D000779:Anesthetics, Local / Q000008:administration & dosage; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008012:Lidocaine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D014014:Tissue Adhesives
D000779:Anesthetics, Local; D014014:Tissue Adhesives; D008012:Lidocaine