Journal of Dental Research, Vol 68, 1210-1213, Copyright © 1989 by International & American Associations for Dental Research Online Journals
A clinical trial of intraligamentary anesthesia
R. W. Edwards and T. W. Head
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, McGill University, Montreal, PQ, Canada.
The effectiveness of the periodontal ligament injection in providing
anesthesia for routine extractions and the possible mechanisms of action of
the periodontal ligament injection in producing dental anesthesia were
investigated in a clinical trial. Periodontal ligament injections were
administered under strong pressure with lidocaine on 14 teeth, with
epinephrine on seven teeth, and with normal saline on another seven teeth.
The anesthesia attained was evaluated by: response of the teeth to an
electric pulp tester, gingival probing around the teeth, and the ability
for teeth to be extracted without pain. The results demonstrated that
periodontal ligament injections with lidocaine were effective in providing
adequate anesthesia for the performance of dental extractions. Lidocaine
periodontal ligament injections were statistically and clinically more
effective in attaining anesthesia than were epinephrine or saline
injections. Epinephrine periodontal ligament injections resulted in a
slight but statistically significant increase in the stimulus necessary to
produce a patient response, when the teeth were stimulated with an electric
pulp-tester. Saline injections produced no change in response to the
stimulus tested. It appears, based on the results of the saline and
epinephrine injections, that hydrostatic pressure had no direct effect on
the production of anesthesia with the periodontal ligament injection.
