A COMPARISON TOPICAL ANESTHESIA AND ELECTRONIC NERVE-STIMULATION FOR REDUCING THE PAIN OF INTRAORAL INJECTIONS

This paper describes a model for investigating the efficacy of differe nt methods of alleviating the pain of intra-oral injections, The effic acies of the topical anaesthetic EMLA cream and electronic nerve stimu lation as means of reducing the discomfort of palatal injections prior to the extraction of maxillary teeth were investigated using the mode l in one hundred patients. EMLA reduced the pain of injection compared with placebo (P < 0.05) whereas the pain reported after electronic ne rve stimulation did not differ significantly from placebo. It is concl uded that EMLA is useful in reducing the pain of palatal injections.