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Is nasopalatine nerve block still mandated for the extraction of maxillary anterior teeth?

British Dental Journal volume 228, pages 865–868 (2020)Cite this article

Abstract

Aim This study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of a single labial injection of 4% articaine for the extraction of maxillary anterior teeth without the need for nasopalatine supplementary injection.

Materials and methods A prospective, controlled, split-mouth clinical study was performed to evaluate the clinical performance of 4% articaine as a single labial infiltration anaesthesia for the extraction of maxillary anterior teeth and to compare it with the routine method of labial injection along with a supplementary nasopalatine injection using 2% lidocaine. Statistical analyses were performed, with the statistical significance being set at 5% level.

Results A total of 37 patients met the inclusion criteria, and a statistically significant difference was observed in the reported pain during injection between the single labial articaine injection and the routine labial and palatal lidocaine injections (P <0.001). The extraction of maxillary anterior teeth was possible without the need for an additional nasopalatine injection in all the study patients (n = 37). The difference between both groups was statistically non-significant in terms of the pain encountered during extraction (P = 0.22).

Conclusion With the use of 4% articaine as a single labial infiltration anaesthesia, nasopalatine nerve block for the extraction of maxillary anterior teeth may become an outdated modality.

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Acknowledgements

We are extremely grateful to the staff of the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department of Alexandria University for their great support in achieving this work.

Approval was given by the Research Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Dentistry, Alexandria University (IRB NO: 00010556-IORG: 0008839).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biomedical Dental Sciences Department, College of Dentistry, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, 31441, Saudi Arabia; Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department, Faculty of Dentistry, Fayoum University, Fayoum, Egypt

    Haytham A. Al-Mahalawy

  2. Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Alexandria University, Alexandria, 21519, Egypt

    Yehia El-Mahallawy

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  1. Haytham A. Al-Mahalawy
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Correspondence to Haytham A. Al-Mahalawy.

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Al-Mahalawy, H., El-Mahallawy, Y. Is nasopalatine nerve block still mandated for the extraction of maxillary anterior teeth?. Br Dent J 228, 865–868 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-020-1632-5

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