Effect of hydralazine on duration of soft tissue local anesthesia following dental treatment: a randomized clinical trial.

Prolonged numbness following routine dental treatments can cause difficulties in speaking and swallowing and may result in inadvertent biting of soft tissues. Local injection of vasodilator agents may represent a solution to this problem. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of submucosal injection of hydralazine hydrochloride (HCl) on the duration of oral soft tissue anesthesia after routine dental treatment. This randomized, single-blinded, controlled clinical trial included 50 patients who received inferior alveolar nerve block (2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine) for simple restorative treatment. Upon completion of the dental treatment, patients randomly received a hydralazine HCl or sham injection in the same site as the local anesthetic injection. The reversal time to normal sensation of soft tissues (lips, tongue, and perioral skin) was evaluated and reported every 5 minutes by the patients, who followed an assessment protocol that they were taught in advance of treatment. Median recovery times in the hydralazine group and the sham group were 81.4 (SD, 3.6) and 221.8 (SD, 6.3) minutes, respectively. Based on Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, the duration of soft tissue anesthesia in the 2 groups was significantly different (P < 0.0001). By 1 hour after the reversal injection, 76% of subjects receiving hydralazine HCl had returned to normal intraoral and perioral sensation, but none of the subjects in the sham group reported normal sensation. Based on these results, submucosal injection of hydralazine HCl can be considered a safe and effective method to reduce the duration of local anesthetic-induced soft tissue numbness and the related functional problems.

Evaluation of Glucosamine sulfate and Ibuprofen effects in patients with temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis symptom.

OBJECTIVE: Ibuprofen - a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)- and glucosamine sulfate - a natural compound and a food supplement- are two therapeutic agents which have been widely used for treatment of patients with temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders. This study was aimed to compare the effectiveness and safety of these two medications in the treatment of patients suffering from TMJ disorders. METHODS: After obtaining informed consent, 60 patients were randomly allocated to two groups. Patients with painful TMJ, TMJ crepitation or limitation of mouth opening entered the study. Exclusion criteria were history of depressive disorders, cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal disorders, asthma, gastrointestinal problems, kidney or liver dysfunction or diabetes mellitus, dental diseases needing ongoing treatment; taking aspirin or warfarin, or concomitant treatment of TMJ disorder with other agents or methods. Thirty patients were treated with ibuprofen 400 mg twice a day, (mean age 27.12 ± 10.83 years) and 30 patients (mean age 26.60 ± 10) were treated with glucosamine sulfate 1500 mg daily. Patients were visited 30, 60 and 90 days after starting the treatment, pain and mandibular opening were checked and compared within and between two groups. FINDINGS: Comparing with baseline measures, both groups had significantly improved post-treatment pain (P < 0.0001 for both groups) and mandibular opening (P value: 0.001 for glucosamine sulfate and 0.03 for ibuprofen). Post treatment pain and mandibular opening showed significantly more improvement in the glucosamine treated patients (P < 0.0001 and 0.01 respectively). Rate of adverse events was significantly lower in the P value glucosamine sulfate group (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: This investigation demonstrated that comparing with a commonly prescribed NSAID - ibuprofen-, glucosamine sulfate is a more effective and safer therapeutic agent for treatment of patients with TMJ degenerative join disorder.