Efficacy of analgesia promoted by lidocaine and articaine in third molar extraction surgery. A split-mouth, randomized, controlled trial.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to compare the analgesic efficacy of 4% articaine associated with epinephrine (1:100,000), and 2% lidocaine associated with epinephrine (1:100,000) in third molar extraction surgery. METHODS: Sixty patients who underwent surgeries to extract upper and lower third molars were included in this split-mouth, double-blind, randomized, controlled trial. The groups in this study were divided according to the anesthetic solution used to provide local anesthesia during extraction of upper and lower third molars: (1) 4% articaine associated with epinephrine (1:100,000); (2) 2% lidocaine associated with epinephrine (1:100,000). The time to the beginning and end of the sensation of analgesia, pain sensation according to the VAS scale, and number of anesthetic tubes necessary for supplementation were analyzed. RESULTS: It was found that the onset time for analgesia was shorter on the side anesthetized with articaine compared to the side anesthetized with lidocaine (122.1 ± 52.90 s vs. 144.5 ± 68.85 s) (p < 0.05). In addition, the number of tubes used for anesthetic supplementation was also reduced on the articaine side compared to the lidocaine side (0.26 ± 0.48 vs. 0.50 ± 0.75) (p < 0.05). There were no differences between the anesthetic solutions in the other evaluated parameters. CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that the use of 4% articaine associated with epinephrine (1:100,000) reduced the time of onset of analgesia and the necessity for anesthetic supplementation in third molar extraction surgeries compared to the use of 2% lidocaine associated with epinephrine (1:100,000).

Effect of the association of infra-red and red wavelength photobiomodulation therapy on the healing of post-extraction sockets of third lower molars: a split-mouth randomized clinical trial.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) with the association of red and infra-red laser therapy in the healing of the post-extraction sockets of third lower molars. Twenty patients were submitted to extraction of lower third molars and the post-extraction sockets were treated using two different approaches in a randomized split-mouth design: The test side received the PBMT with red (λ 660 nm) and infra-red laser therapy (λ 808 nm) and the control side was not irradiated. The PBMT was applied immediately and 3 and 7 days after the surgical procedure. Post-extraction socket healing was assessed by the bone repair score, bone density, and fractal dimension analysis 7 and 90 days after the surgical procedure, using cone-beam computed tomography images. Additionally, clinical analyses were performed 3, 7, 14, 30, and 90 days after the surgical procedure, considering the occurrence of pain, edema, and bleeding, as well as the quality of the oral mucosa repair, assessed using a visual analogue scale. The clinical analysis showed that PBMT reduced edema and improved the repair of oral mucosa at 7 days after surgery, while the tomographic analysis showed no significant differences between groups. Dual-wavelength PBMT improved the post-operative clinical course in patients undergoing lower third molar extraction, without altering bone repair.