Efficacy of Eutectic Mixture of Local Anesthetics (EMLA) Versus Ice as Topical Anesthetics Prior to Long Buccal Nerve Blocks: A Prospective Comparative Study

Background Dental extraction is one of the common procedures in field dentistry. However, fear and anxiety about local anesthetic injections are unavoidable for most patients. Topical anesthetics, distraction techniques, acupuncture, application heat or cold have been used practice to alleviate injection-related pain. The specific aim this study was compare pain-relieving efficacy eutectic mixture anesthetics (EMLA) vs. ice during administration a long buccal nerve block (LBNB) before dental extraction. Materials Methods In total, 20 healthy adult patients who required bilateral mandibular posterior teeth under anesthesia were enrolled. conducted Department Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Saveetha College Hospitals, Chennai, from January 2023 May 2023. It prospective split-mouth which each participant divided into two groups according operative site: Group 1, received 5% EMLA cream, 2, an LBNB. There one-week interval between interventions. levels pain satisfaction assessed using visual analogue scale (VAS) perception evaluated by sound, eye, motor (SEM) scale. Mann-Whitney U test applied statistical analysis. Results included total participants, with 14 being male six female. mean age population 42 ± 15 years. When analyzing scores VAS, it found that 1 had score 2.4 0.44, while 2 3.0 0.44. This difference statistically significant (P = 0.001). also patient 9.8 0.22 9.2 0.40 (p 0.003). Similarly, SEM 1.1 0.1, 1.30 0.46 =0.016). Conclusion results revealed has advantage over terms lower pain, more satisfaction, higher comfort levels. can be considered first choice topical however, recommended resource-constrained set-ups as cost-effective.