• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.139-153
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• 2021

Background: In anesthetic techniques, touching bones can cause needle bending. Theoretically, a needle should support such deflection without fracturing. However, it is possible that a needle may fracture depending on the quality and type of needle used. This study evaluated the physical, chemical, and micromorphological characteristics of long and short dental anesthetic needles, as well as the mechanical properties of flexural load and bending resistance when needles are subjected to different bending angles. Methods: Long and short needles (30G, Jets, Misawa, Selekto, Terumo, Unoject and 27G, Dencojet, Injex, Jets, Misawa, Procare, Setoject XL, Terumo) were evaluated. Scanning electron microscopy was used to evaluate the needle bevels and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy was used for the chemical analysis of needle compositions. Flexural loading and bending strength assessments were performed using a universal testing machine by bending the needles (n = 5) to angles of 30°, 60°, or 90°, or until fracture occurred. Results: The Injex 27G, Jets 27G, and Septoject XL 27G needles were all less than 30 mm in length. There were small percentage variations in the chemical compositions of the needles. Superior smoothness was observed for the Unoject 30G needle, which exhibited the highest fracture resistance at 60°. The Jets 30G needle exhibited greater resistance to fractures at 90°. The Procare 27G needle exhibited the highest load resistance to bending, followed by the Septoject XL 27G needle, and both needles were tied for the lowest fracture resistance. No needle fractured when bent to 30° or at less than three bends to 60° or 90°. Conclusions: Greater needle resistance to bending increases the probability of early fracturing. Thinner and shorter needles are more resistant than longer and thicker needles. Performing a single bend does not result in any significant risk of fracture or obliterate the lumen, allowing for the continued passage of anesthetic liquid.

• Journal of The Korean Dental Society of Anesthesiology
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.197-202
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• 2010

Multiple sclerosis is a degenerative disease prevalent in northern climates, and its cause is unknown. The histopathological lesion in multiple sclerosis is the sclerotic "plague", a discrete focus of myelin loss with maintenance of axon segments and glial proliferation. The plaques may be seen in widely different brain and spinal tissues. The common causes of low back pain are psychosomatic disorder, myofascial pain dysfunction syndrome and herniation of nucleus pulposus. Local anesthetics cross the blood-brain barrier and the signs of CNS toxicity appear at a level between 4.5 and $7.0\;{\mu}g/ml$. This is a case report of acute back pain care after mandibular block anesthesia for the surgical extraction of mandibular root rests in an old aged woman with multiple sclerosis.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.37-44
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• 2019

Objective: Arthrocentesis is a minimally invasive surgical procedure that is used to alleviate the symptoms of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of arthrocentesis on the blood supply to the retinal structures. Materials and Methods: Arthrocentesis was performed on 20 patients with TMJ disorders, and choroidal thickness (CT) in patients was measured to evaluate retinal blood circulation. The blood volume of the retinal structures was evaluated ipsilaterally before and after arthrocentesis, and these measurements were then compared with measurements obtained from the contralateral side. Results: Before arthrocentesis, there were no differences in retinal blood volumes between the ipsilateral and contralateral sides (P = 0.96). When ipsilateral CT measurements taken before and after arthrocentesis were compared, retinal blood supply was found to have significantly decreased after arthrocentesis (P = 0.04). When contralateral CT measurements taken before and after arthrocentesis were compared, retinal blood supply was also found to have decreased after arthrocentesis, but not significantly (P = 0.19). Conclusion: The solution of local anesthesia with epinephrine applied before the arthrocentesis procedure was found to reduce the blood volume of the retinal structures. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that has investigated the blood volume of the retinal structures following arthrocentesis.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.145-153
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• 2022

Background: Postoperative analgesia (POA) is an important determinant of successful treatment. Dexmedetomidine (DEX) has recently gained attention as a promising adjuvant to local anesthetics (LA). The present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of levobupivacaine (LB) as an adjuvant during inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) in the extraction of lower impacted third molars (LITM). Methods: A prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, triple-blind, parallel-arm, and clinical study was performed on 50 systemically healthy participants who required removal of an asymptomatic LITM. Using a 1:1 distribution, the participants were randomized into two groups (n = 25). Group L (control group) received 1.8 mL of 0.5% LB and 0.2 mL normal saline (placebo) and Group D (study group) received a blend of 1.8 mL of 0.5% LB and 0.2 mL (20 ㎍) DEX. The primary outcome variable was the duration of POA and hemodynamic stability, and the secondary variable was the total number of analgesics required postoperatively for up to 72 h. The participants were requested to record the time of rescue analgesic use and the total number of rescue analgesics taken. The area under the curve was plotted for the total number of analgesics administered. The pain was evaluated using the visual analog scale. Data analysis was performed using paired students and unpaired t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, Chi-square test, and receiver operating characteristic analysis. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: The latency, profoundness of anesthesia, and duration of POA were statistically significant (P < 0.05). The differences between mean pain scores at 6, 12, 24, 48, and 72 h were found to be significant (each P = 0.0001). Fewer analgesics were required by participants in group D (2.12 ± 0.33) than in L (4.04 ± 0.67), with a significant difference (P = 0.0001). Conclusion: Perineurally administered LA with DEX is a safe, effective, and therapeutic approach for improving latency, providing profound POA, and reducing the need for postoperative analgesia.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.143-151
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• 2023

Background: Dental anxiety is a matter of serious concern to pediatric dentists as it may impede the efficient delivery of dental care. If not adequately resolved, a persistent negative response pattern may emerge. Thaumaturgy, commonly known as magic trick, has become popular recently. It is a tool that distracts and relaxes the child by using magic trick while the dentist performs necessary treatment. Hence, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Thaumaturgic aid in alleviation of anxiety in 4-6 - year-old children during administration of local anesthesia using the inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) technique. Methods: Thirty children aged between 4-6 years with dental anxiety requiring IANB were included in this study. Patients were divided equally into two groups: Group I, thaumaturgic aid group and Group II, conventional non-pharmacological group using randomization. Anxiety was measured before and after using the intervention with Raghavendra Madhuri Sujata-Pictorial scale (RMS-PS), Venham's anxiety rating scale, and pulse rate. All the data were tabulated and compared using statistical analysis. Results: Children in thaumaturgy group (Group- I) exhibited significantly lower anxiety during IANB in comparison with children in the conventional group (Group- II) and the difference was statistically significant. Conclusion: Magic tricks are effective in reducing anxiety among young children during IANB; Moreover, it expands the arsenal of behavior guidance techniques for treatment of children with anxiety and plays an important role in shaping the behavior of a child in pediatric dentistry.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.14 no.1_2
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• pp.146-153
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• 1992

In the outpatient clinic, we have many patients who suffer from temporomandibular joint disorders. These vary from MPD syndrome to osteoarthrosis, and many cases have tender spots or areas on the temporomandibular joint region and/or masticatory muscles. Further, they frequently have masticatory muscle pain when opening the jaw. This paper presents the results of our research on the differential diagnosis for tendernesses and pain on opening the jaw in the temporomandibular joint region and the masticatory muscles by joint cavity pumping with local anesthestic. The areas of tenderness and jae-opening paw in 65 patient suffering from temporomandibular joint disorder were examined and recorded before and after anesthetizing the upper joint cavity with 2% lidocaine. Maximum interincisal distance was similarly recorded. The results were as follows : In the area surrounding the upper joint cavity including the lateral pterygoid muscle, the tenderness and jaw-opening pain vanished almost entirely after anesthesia. This was considered a direct infiltrative effect of the local anesthesia. After the anesthesia, 86% of the tendernesses on the sternocleidomastoid muscles, and 66% of those on the posterior belly of the diagstric muscles vanished, while the disappearance rates on the masseter, temporal, and medial pterygoid muscles were 50~60%. Apart from the temporomandibular region, pain on opening the jaw was found on the masseter, temporal, posterior belly of the digastric muscles, and medial pterygoid muscles before anesthesia. The disappearance rates after anesthesia were 90~100% except for the pain of the posterior belly of the digastric muscles, for which the rate was 66%. These results suggest that more than 88% of the tendernesses on the sternocleidomastoid muscle, more than 60% of the tendernesses and jaw-opening pains on the digastric muscle, and more than half of the tendernesses and almost all of the jaw-opening pains in the jaw-closing muscles are referred pains from the temporomandibular joint. The tendernesses that had no change after anesthesia were considered to be derived from spasms of the muscles proper. Generally, maximum interincisal distance increased after anesthesia. The average distance was 34mm before anesthesia, but increased to 41mm after anesthesia. In a few cases, however little or no change was found in those distances. In these cases, pathological changes were found in the joint cavities arthrographically or arthroscopically.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.95-99
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• 2020

Various dental procedures, such as injection administration, surgical treatment, and endodontic treatment, can cause injury to the nerves. The most commonly injured nerves are the inferior alveolar and lingual nerves. This can manifest as altered sensation to the area of innervation of the injured nerve, such as the lower lip, chin, teeth, tongue, and mucosa. Altered sensations or loss of sensation are relatively infrequent complications in daily dental practice. Here, we report an uncommon case of altered sensation in the midfacial region caused by an endodontic procedure and discuss the need to consider local dental causes in the differential diagnosis of numbness in the facial region.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.177-182
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• 2018

Paresthesia is an altered sensation of the skin, manifesting as numbness, partial loss of local sensitivity, burning, or tingling. The inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) is the third branch of the trigeminal nerve and is very important in dental treatment. IAN paresthesia may occur after various dental procedures such as simple anesthetic injections, surgical procedures, and endodontic treatment, and is reported to range from 0.35% to 8.4%. The altered sensation usually follows immediately after the procedure, and reports of late onset of nerve involvement are rare. This report presents a rare case of delayed paresthesia after dental surgery and discusses the pathophysiology of IAN delayed paresthesia.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.327-335
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• 2023

Background: Pain control is a crucial aspect of pediatric dentistry for patient management. Thermo-mechanical devices (Buzzy^TM Pain Care Labs, USA) work on the concept of vibration and cooling and have shown promising results in pain control during local anesthesia in pediatric dentistry. On the other hand, audio distraction has also been used for pain management. The amount of pain endured is determined by the patient's perception and attentiveness. Thus, if audio function is added to the thermomechanical device it might increase its efficiency. Hence, the present study aimed to compare pain on injection using a thermo-mechanical device with and without audio during inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) injection in children aged 5-10 years old. Methods: Twenty-eight children aged between 5 and 10 indicated for IANB were included in this randomized study. Children who were undergoing the dental procedure were divided into 2 groups, with 14 children in each group. The study group was the thermo-mechanical device with audio distraction; the control group was the thermo-mechanical device without audio distraction. IANB was administered. Subjective pain evaluation was performed using the Wong-Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale (WBFPR) and objective pain evaluation was done using the Faces, Leg, Activity, Consolability, Cry (FLACC) scale. Results: The outcome depicted a significant reduction in pain on injection for both objective and subjective evaluations in the thermo-mechanical device with an audio distraction group. Conclusions: Less pain on injection was observed, when a thermo-mechanical device was used with audio distraction for IANB procedures.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.41-46
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• 2018

Background: The purpose of this prospective randomized single-blind clinical trial was to evaluate the effect of tilting the head on the anesthetic efficacy of inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) in patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. Methods: Ninety-two patients were divided into two groups: the first group received IANB and the head was tilted in the direction of the block for 15 min, whereas the second group received IANB and the head was tilted to the opposite side. Access cavity preparation was initiated after 15 min. Success was defined as no pain or faint/weak/mild pain during endodontic access preparation and instrumentation. The anesthetic success rates were analyzed by Pearson chi-square test at 5% significance levels. Results: The same side position and opposite side position yielded 41% and 30% anesthetic success rates, respectively; there was no significant difference between the two sides. Conclusions: Relative head position has no effect on the anesthetic success rate of IANB.