COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF THE 2% LIGNOCAINE & 20% BENZOCAINE ANESTHETIC GELS IN REDUCING PAIN PRIOR TO INFERIOR ALVEOLAR NERVE BLOCK.

INTRODUCTION: Topical anesthetic agents are widely used in the field of dentistry to reduce pain and apprehension during administration of local anesthesia. Various topical anesthetic agents are available, among which the most commonly used ones are lignocaine and benzocaine. Hence we planned this study to compare and evaluate the efficacy of topical anesthesia on needle insertion pain prior to administration of inferior alveolar nerve block. MATERIALS & METHOD: This clinical study included 30 adults of 18-35 years of age who were divided equally into two groups: Group A-2% lignocaine hydrochloride gel (Lox 2%) and Group B-20% benzocaine gel (ProGel-B). The intervention involved assessment of pain perception by the individuals after administration of inferior alveolar nerve block. The pain assessment was done using a Visual analogue scale (VAS). The ratings were subjected to statistical analysis using SPSS version 23.0 RESULTS: Lignocaine when used as a topical anesthetic agent showed lower mean scores under both the pain scales when compared with benzocaine but the results were statistically insignificant. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that there is a highly significant difference between the topical anesthetic efficacy of 2% lignocaine and 20% benzocaine prior to inferior alveolar nerve block. Twenty percent benzocaine showed more pain results than 2% lignocaine during the needle insertion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]