ASSESSING THE DURATION OF MANDIBULAR SOFT-TISSUE ANESTHESIA

Dentists often employ solutions of 3 percent mepivacaine or 4 percent prilocaine without a vasoconstrictor in pediatric patients in an attem pt to reduce the duration of mandibular soft tissue anesthesia. The au thors compared the time course of soft tissue anesthesia produced by t hese solutions with that of 2 percent lidocaine plus 1:100,000 epineph rine in 60 adults. They found no reduction in the duration of soft tis sue anesthesia when employing 3 percent mepivacaine or 4 percent prilo caine instead of 2 percent lido-epi. Combining these observations with local anesthetic dosage considerations, the authors recommend that 2 percent lido-epi be used when performing mandibular block injections i n young children.