A Comparative Evaluation of Pain Experience and Time of Onset of 2% Lignocaine and 4% Articaine in Inferior Alveolar Nerve Block among Pediatric Population: A Clinical Study.

AIM: The objective of this research was to conduct a comparison and evaluate the pain perception and time of onset of 2% lignocaine 1:80,000 epinephrine with 4% articaine 1:100,000 epinephrine in the pediatric population.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A split-mouth randomized control trial was conducted on 50 children aged 9-14 years who required inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) anesthesia for bilateral dental treatment in the mandibular arch. The time of onset was recorded when no sensation was reported even when maximum electrical stimulus was applied in an electric pulp testing (EPT). The pain perception was assessed using a visual analog scale (VAS) rated by the patient for subjective symptoms and face, legs, activity, cry, and consolability (FLACC) scale for objective pain rated by the operator.

RESULTS: The mean onset of time, pain-VAS, and FLACC score decreased by 1.31, 12.07, and 18.39%, respectively in 4% articaine as compared to 2% lignocaine but the difference did not reach statistical significance ( p > 0.05), that is, found to be statistically the same.In conclusion, it can be inferred that the utilization of 4% articaine is as potent as 2% lignocaine solution but showed slightly better onset of anesthesia and pain experience among the children although the findings were not statistically significant.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Local anesthesia (LA) is one of the main methods of pain management in pediatric practice which makes it essential to choose an LA agent with a shorter time of onset and less pain on administration.

HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Singh SS, Koul M. A Comparative Evaluation of Pain Experience and Time of Onset of 2% Lignocaine and 4% Articaine in Inferior Alveolar Nerve Block among Pediatric Population: A Clinical Study. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2024;17(1):67-71.