A placebo-controlled multi-centred evaluation of an anaesthetic gel (Oraqix) for periodontal therapy.
OBJECTIVE
Six Canadian dental schools investigated the ability of a thermosetting gel containing 25 mg/g prilocaine and 25 mg/g lidocaine as active agents to produce analgesia in periodontal pockets utilizing a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.


METHODS
The study consisted of 130 patients, each of whom received the active or placebo gel in periodontal pockets in one quadrant of the mouth for 30 s prior to periodontal debridement (scaling and root planing). Pain was measured using both a 100-mm Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and a Verbal Rating Scale (VRS).


RESULTS
The median VAS pain score for the patients treated with the anaesthetic gel was 5 mm (range 0-85 mm) as opposed to 13 mm (range 0-79 mm) in the placebo-treated patients (P=0.015). There was no significant difference in the percentage of patients reporting no or mild pain (78% and 76% for the anaesthetic gel and placebo, respectively). No significant differences were seen in patient demographics, or mandible versus maxilla.


CONCLUSIONS
The VAS pain scores showed that the anaesthetic gel 5% was statistically more effective than the placebo in reducing pain during periodontal debridement.
Donaldson
D
D
Department of Oral Biological and Medical Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. ddonald@interchange.ubc.ca
Gelskey
S C
SC
Landry
R G
RG
Matthews
D C
DC
Sandhu
H S
HS
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019162:Anesthetics, Combined / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000779:Anesthetics, Local / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D012534:Dental Scaling; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005782:Gels; D006801:Humans; D008012:Lidocaine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000077442:Lidocaine, Prilocaine Drug Combination; D008334:Mandible; D008437:Maxilla; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000628:therapy*; D010919:Placebos; D011318:Prilocaine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D016745:Root Planing; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013997:Time Factors
D019162:Anesthetics, Combined; D000779:Anesthetics, Local; D005782:Gels; D000077442:Lidocaine, Prilocaine Drug Combination; D010919:Placebos; D011318:Prilocaine; D008012:Lidocaine