title: [Therapeutic local anesthesia for the management of atypical odontalgia. A clinical case series].
abstract: The management of patients diagnosed with atypical odontalgia (AO) is a challenging task. The aim of this longitudinal clinical case series was to document the effect of a 4% carticaine solution without epinephrine among ten patients with AO. Once or on two successive days, 1.7 ml of the local anesthetics was injected buccally in the area of the perceived pain. Pain intensity was recorded four times daily by each participant, beginning at least two weeks prior to the treatment and ending at least four weeks thereafter. The main outcome parameter was pain reduction (in percent) four weeks after treatment compared to the average pain intensity before the injection(s). In addition, study participants were asked to rate their satisfaction with the treatment. Four weeks after treatment, seven of the ten patients experienced significantly less pain than before. Among five individuals, there was a significant pain decrease (about 30% or more). Patient satisfaction was not significantly associated with the amount of pain reduction. Considering the limited treatment options and their side effects, injections with epinephrine-free carticaine seem to be a measure worth to be taken into consideration. Although results gained from uncontrolled case series have to be interpreted with caution, the findings of this observational study sound promising.
authors.affiliation: Klinik für Rekonstruktive Zahnmedizin und Myoarthropathien, Universitätskliniken für Zahnmedizin, Universität Basel, Schweiz. jens.tuerp@unibas.ch
authors.forename: Jens Christoph
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Türp
mesh_terms: D000278:Administration, Buccal; D000328:Adult; D000779:Anesthetics, Local / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002355:Carticaine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006930:Hyperalgesia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014098:Toothache / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D000779:Anesthetics, Local; D002355:Carticaine