THE INTRAORAL USE OF EMLA CREAM IN CHILDREN - A CLINICAL INVESTIGATION

The use of 5 percent EMLA (an eutectic mixture of local anesthetics co mprised of a mixture of prilocaine and lidocaine) as an intraoral topi cal anesthetic in children has been assessed in a clinical investigati on. In a split-mouth study in twenty children there was no difference in the efficacy of EMLA and 5 percent lidocaine ointment in alleviatin g the pain of maxillary buccal infiltration injections of local anesth etics. EMLA did not differ significantly From placebo in the changes i n pulpal responses of maxillary primary teeth to electrical stimulatio n before and after application in a double-blind split-mouth study in twenty children.