Minimum volume of infiltrative anesthetic required for pain-free placement of mini-implants: a split-mouth clinical trial.

This article reports on a split-mouth clinical trial investigating the minimum volume of infiltrative anesthetic required for pain-free placement of orthodontic mini-implants in the maxillary buccal region. Nineteen healthy young adults received submucosal injections of either 0.5 mL or 1.0 mL of 2% lignocaine with 1:200,000 epinephrine on opposite sides of the maxilla, and pain was assessed during and after mini-implant placement. Results showed that 1.0 mL of the anesthetic provided significantly better pain control at all measured time points compared to 0.5 mL, with no anesthetic failures reported. The study concludes that 1.0 mL is preferable for effective anesthesia during mini-implant placement, although 0.5 mL may be considered for patients with higher pain thresholds.