THE EFFECTS OF 2-PERCENT LIDOCAINE WITH 1 100,000 EPINEPHRINE ON PULPAL AND GINGIVAL BLOOD-FLOW/

Objective. The dental pulp is a low-compliance system that is particul arly vulnerable to physiologic changes. Prolonged vasoconstriction may have detrimental effects. This goal of this study was to determine wh ether 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine, as used for buccal infi ltration, decreases the blood flow in the dental pulp and adjacent gin gival tissue. Study design. The Periflux PF3 laser Doppler monitored p ulpal and gingival blood flow before and after injection with local an esthetic. Ten human volunteers with at least one healthy and unrestore d maxillary premolar were used in this study. Results. After injection of 0.9 ml of 2% lidocaine with epinephrine, there was a significant r eduction from baseline values (p > 0.05) in both pulpal (73%) and ging ival (51%) blood flow rate in all volunteers. Blood flow had not retur ned to baseline values after 1 hour. Conclusion. This study showed tha t 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine significantly reduced blood flow pulpally and gingivally. Pulpal blood flow reduction was more tha n gingival blood flow reduction, which may be critical for compromised pulps with already reduced blood flow. The gingival effects may be of relevance with soft tissue protcedures.