EFFECTS OF LOCAL-ANESTHESIA ON SUBSTANCE-P AND CGRP CONTENT OF THE HUMAN DENTAL-PULP

The aim of the study was to determine immunoreactive Substance P (iSP) and immunoreactive calcitonin gene-related Peptide (iCGRP) content in the human dental pulp and whether local anesthesia has an effect on t he neuropeptide content, Dental pulps were obtained from patients, who underwent surgical extraction of all 4 impacted wisdom teeth under ge neral isoflurane gas anesthesia, There was a very high interindividual variation in tissue content, with small variation in levels found in teeth from the same patient, Pulps obtained from lower teeth without l ocal anesthesia contained an average of 131 +/- 62 fmol/mg protein of iCGRP and 15 +/- 9 fmol/mg iSP (n = 10), With additional mandibular bl ock anesthesia the values were 194 +/- 71 fmol/mg iCGRP (statistically significant, p = 0.0356, Mann-Whitney-Rank-Sum-Test) and 12 +/- 3.6 f mol/mg iSP. The results suggest that local anesthesia attenuates neuro peptide release in the human dental pulp during surgical extraction.