Efficacy of an anesthetic gel in the reduction of pain during impression making.

INTRODUCTION: Gingival tissue displacement can be an uncomfortable procedure, often performed without injectable local anesthesia. The present study evaluated the efficacy of an anesthetic gel in reducing pain during this procedure. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirty patients undergoing definitive dental impression, for fabricating full-coverage restorations, were evaluated for pain perception on displacement of the surrounding gingival tissues. All the participants were randomly divided into two groups. Five minutes before the insertion of the displacement cord, the anesthetic gel, a mixture of 5% lidocaine and 5% prilocaine, was applied in the sulcus of test group patients. Each patient was asked to complete the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and the Verbal Rating Scale (VRS). RESULTS: In the two scales considered, test group patients showed a statistically significant pain reduction (VAS p=0.0002, VRS p=0.01054) compared to control group patients. CONCLUSIONS: Within the limitations of this study, a clinically significant efficacy of the anesthetic gel was noticed during gingival displacement procedures.