Effectiveness of local and topical anesthesia during gingival retraction
Aman Merchant, Dhanraj Ganapathy, Subhabrata Maiti
Abstract
Objective: To compare the effectiveness of local and topical anesthesia during gingival retraction in preparedabutment teeth. Material and Methods: 72 patients desiring full mouth rehabilitation or bilateral fixed partialdenture in the same arch were selected based on the inclusion criteria framed and were randomly allocated intoGroups A and B of 36 each. Patients in Group A received gingival retraction with topical anesthesia and GroupB received gingival retraction with infiltration anesthesia. All the patients were tested for pain, discomfort andbleeding during gingival retraction. Results: There was no significant difference in pain, discomfort and gingivalbleeding (P >.05) during gingival retraction using topical and local anesthetic agents. Conclusion: Topicalanesthesia was equally effective as infiltration anesthesia in managing the pain, discomfort and bleeding duringgingival retraction by cord packing in prepared abutment teeth. KEYWORDSGingival retraction techniques; Topical administration; Infiltration; Pain.