Comparative Efficacy of Lidocaine, Benzocaine, and Combination Topical Therapy for Pain Reduction in Pediatric Local Anesthesia: A Randomized Clinical Trial Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15218/edj.2025.7Keywords:
Needle insertion pain, Pediatric patients, Visual analog scale, Topical anesthesia, Inferior alveolar nerve blockAbstract
Background and objective: Topical anesthetics are highly used in the field of pediatric dentistry such as (Lidocaine and Benzocaine) which are used to relieve pain during needle insertion. The aim of this study to compare and evaluate the effectiveness of multiple topical anesthetic agents prior to anesthetic delivery undergoing pediatric and minor oral procedures.
Material and Methods: This study included 60 children of 6-12 years of age, the total number of the samples were divided into 3 groups; Group I: 20 cases (lidocaine gel 20%), Group II: 20 cases (benzocaine gel 20%), and Group III: 20 cases both lidocaine gel 20% and benzocaine gel 20%) were applied before needle insertion during inferior alveolar nerve block and infiltration. In addition, the child's pain assessment was done using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS).
Results: 33 boys (55%) and 27 girls (45%) of 6-12 years old participated in the study, the two-step application of both (20% Benzocaine and 20% Lidocaine) showed lower mean scores when it was compared with Benzocaine and Lidocaine, but the results were statistically insignificant. Lidocaine and Benzocaine alone or together are equivalent in efficiency when used as a topical anesthetic agent. The results showed that females and males have no difference in Visual Analogue Scale scores, and with increasing age the VAS score decreased.
Conclusion: This study concluded the two-step application of both (20% Benzocaine and 20% Lidocaine) is more effective in reducing pain upon needle penetration into the oral mucosa than each agent used alone, and 20% benzocaine demonstrated better results than 20% lidocaine in reducing pain upon needle penetration. But it was statistically non-significant. The findings highlight the potential benefit of combining topical anesthetics for improved pain management in pediatric dental procedures.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Sazgar Muhammed Sabir, Abduljaleel Samad, Shereen Najat Haji, Abdulrahman Azad Samad, Omer Mahmood Attallah (Author)
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