The purpose of this prospective, randomized, double-blind study was to compare the pain of injection, heart rate increase, and postinjection pain of the intraligamentary injection of 4% articaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine and 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine administered with a computer-controlled local anesthetic delivery system. Using a crossover design, intraligamentary injections of 1.4 mL of 4% articaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine and 1.4 mL of 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine were randomly administered on the mesial and distal aspects of the mandibular first molar with a computer-controlled local anesthetic delivery system in a double-blind manner at 2 separate appointments to 51 subjects. The results demonstrated the incidence of moderate pain was 14%-27% with needle insertion, with 0%-4% reporting severe pain. For solution deposition, moderate pain was reported 8%-18% of the time, with no reports of severe pain. There were no significant differences between the articaine and lidocaine solutions. Regarding heart rate changes, neither anesthetic solution resulted in a significant increase in heart rate over baseline readings. On day 1 postinjection, there was a 31% incidence of moderate/severe pain with the articaine solution and 20% incidence of moderate/severe pain with the lidocaine solution. The moderate/severe pain ratings decreased over the next 2 days. There were no significant differences between the articaine and lidocaine solutions. We concluded that the intraligamentary injection of 4% articaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine was similar to 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine for injection pain and postinjection pain in the mandibular first molar when administered with a computer-controlled local anesthetic delivery system. For both anesthetic solutions, heart rate did not significantly increase with the intraligamentary injection using the computer-controlled local anesthetic system.

This article details a double-blind, randomized study evaluating the efficacy and safety of intranasal sufentanil and intranasal midazolam (S/M) when compared with intranasal ketamine and intranasal midazolam (K/M) for sedation and analgesia in pediatric patients undergoing dental surgery. Fifty healthy ASA status 1 children aged 5-7 years, weighing 15-20 kg, and having 6 or more teeth extracted, were randomly allocated to 2 groups of 25 patients each (n = 50). In the S/M group, 25 children received intranasal sufentanil 20 microg, and intranasal midazolam 0.3 mg/kg 20 minutes before the induction of anesthesia. In the K/M group, 25 children received intranasal ketamine 5 mg/kg and intranasal midazolam 0.3 mg/kg 20 minutes before the induction of anesthesia. Sevoflurane in nitrous oxide and oxygen was used for induction and maintenance of anesthesia. This study demonstrated the safety and efficacy of both methods with ease of administration, combined with a rapid onset of action. Both groups were equally sedated. A smooth mask induction of anesthesia was experienced in the majority of children. Effective postoperative analgesia for multiple dental extractions was provided. The intranasal administration of drugs for sedation and analgesia has some promising features in preschool children undergoing multiple dental extractions.

This survey assesses whether oral and maxillofacial surgeons in the state of Virginia are prepared for inspection of their offices. A survey asking pertinent questions on the availability of specific equipment and the educational qualifications of the anesthesia care team was developed and sent to 155 offices. Seven questions were asked regarding the availability of nurses, types of life support training, (formal or informal), the surgeons and anesthesia care personnel, and the presence of a defibrillator. Questionnaires were short and simple to encourage compliance with the study guidelines. A total of 128 (82.6%) questionnaires were returned. Only 42 of 128 (32.8%) offices employed nurses, and 6 of the 42 nurses were not considered as part of the anesthesia care team. Only 36 of 128 (28.1%) of the offices had assistants with formal anesthesia assistant course training from the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS) or the American Dental Society of Anesthesiology (ADSA). However, 93% of the assistants who participated in the anesthesia had current basic life support training (BLS) training, and 74% of the surgeons had current advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) training. The AAOMS Office Emergency Manual was present in 118 of 128 offices (92.2%), and 124 of 128 offices (96.9%) had defibrillators. The survey suggests that the surgeons are well prepared from the standpoint of having a defibrillator present and the AAOMS Office Emergency Manual available as a template for the team to use in order to answer questions that the inspection team may ask of the primary anesthesia care provider and surgeon. The majority of the surgeons had current ACLS certification, and the office anesthesia assistants had current BLS training. Most of the assistants did not have formal course training, which indicates that on-the-job training is probably the norm. Less than one third of the offices had nurses.

We report 2 cases of hypersensitivity to an epinephrine preparation in local anesthetics which were found by skin tests for local anesthetics. Both patients had uncomfortable episodes to local anesthetics at dental treatment. In both cases, the skin tests showed positive reactions to 2% lidocaine with 1:80,000 epinephrine. Furthermore drug lymphocyte stimulation test revealed positive reaction to epinephrine hydrochloride, epinephrine bitartrate in case 1, whereas in case 2, the drug lymphocyte stimulation test showed positive response to epinephrine bitartrate. Attention should be paid to exogenous epinephrine preparations that have the potential to induce hypersensitivity during dental treatment.

As the ideal sedative does not exist for all situations, we examined the effect of a midazolam-ketamine sedoanalgesic admixture in human volunteers. Ten ASA physical status I volunteers were administered loading doses of 0.07 mg/kg of midazolam followed by 0.7 mg/kg of ketamine. The same amount of midazolam and ketamine was then infused constantly over 1 hour via a 60 drops (gtts)/mL i.v. infusion set. Blood samples were analyzed for plasma catecholamine levels. Respiration rate and oxygen saturation did not alter significantly from baseline levels. Heart rate and systolic blood pressure remained stable with an increase of 15% in heart rate and 6% in systolic blood pressure only at 10 minutes following the bolus loading. Diastolic blood pressure did not alter significantly from baseline levels (P < .05). Plasma catecholamines levels remained stable except for an increase in epinephrine (38%) and norepinephrine (19%) 10 minutes following the bolus injections. Plasma dopamine levels remained unchanged. There were no cases of unpleasant dreaming, dysphoria, or emergence-type reactions. This combined nonnarcotic sedoanalgesic technique maintains spontaneous ventilation and stable cardiorespiratory parameters and may be considered as an alternative to traditional conscious sedation or general anesthesia.

Congenital Central Hypoventilation Syndrome (CCHS, also known as Ondine's Curse) is a rare syndrome characterized by apnea, cyanosis, and hypotonia. A 4-year-old, 90-cm, 12-kg girl with CCHS, mental retardation (MR), and Hischsprung's disease (HD) was treated under general anesthesia. Intravenous drugs were not used, but sevoflurane, a volatile anesthetic, was used. As a result, the recovery time from the end of the operation to returning to the ward was very short, only 18 minutes. There was no trouble during the perioperative period. We safely performed general anesthesia and dental treatment for a girl who had CCHS with HD and MR.

A total of 137 patients in a Hamburg dental fears clinic, a majority of them persons with dental phobia, were administered questionnaires regarding dental fears and health-related quality of life. Subjects also underwent a dental examination. Dental fears were shown to be associated with dental health problems. Women were more fearful than men, and younger persons were more fearful than older ones. Patients of lower social economic status had somewhat more dental health problems compared with more economically privileged persons. This study also shows, with the use of the SF-36, that dental fears are negatively related to quality of life, especially as measured in areas such as psychological well-being, vitality, and social functioning.

The purpose of this prospective, randomized, blinded study was to determine the anesthetic efficacy of the anterior middle superior alveolar (AMSA) injection using the computer-assisted Wand Plus injection system versus a conventional syringe. The authors, using a crossover design, randomly administered in a blind manner 2 AMSA injections utilizing the computer-assisted injection system and a conventional syringe to 40 subjects during 2 separate appointments. A pulp tester was used to test for anesthesia, in 4-minute cycles for 60 minutes, of the central and lateral incisors, canine, and first and second premolars. Anesthesia was considered successful when 2 consecutive no responses (80 readings) with the pulp tester were obtained. For all teeth, except the central incisor, the use of the computer-assisted injection system was significantly (P < .05) more likely to result in pulpal anesthesia than the use of the conventional syringe technique. For the computer-assisted injection system, successful pulpal anesthesia ranged from 35 to 58%, and for the conventional syringe, successful pulpal anesthesia ranged from 20 to 42%. For both techniques, the onset of pulpal anesthesia was slow, and duration of pulpal anesthesia declined steadily over 60 minutes. We conclude that although the AMSA injection using the computer-assisted injection system was more successful than the conventional syringe technique, the rather modest to low success rates, slow onset, and declining duration of pulpal anesthesia over 60 minutes would not ensure predictable pulpal anesthesia from the second premolar to the central incisor.

There is very little information about the practice of sedation in Japan. Despite the remarkable advances in dentistry, fear and anxiety continue to be significant deterrents for seeking dental services. Most dental procedures can fortunately be undertaken with the aid of sedation. A comprehensive survey of all the dental schools in Japan was carried out to determine what sedation practices were used in Japan. All 29 dental schools in Japan possessed a dedicated department of anesthesiology at the time of this survey. The survey attempted to determine the specific sedation methods (techniques, routes of administration, and agents used in sedation) as well as practices (monitoring, fasting, location, education, and fees involved in sedation). The results indicate that there was a broad range in sedation practices. The Japanese Dental Society of Anesthesiology may wish to examine the findings of this study and may wish to formulate guidelines appropriate for the practice of sedation in Japan. Others may also wish to compare their own practices with those of Japan.

Intravenous sedation during dental treatment is primarily used in outpatient clinics. Maintenance of a level of sedation sufficient to allow treatment while using the minimum dose possible and to induce faster waking is very important. The benefits of bispectral index monitoring have recently been reported for many applications, and it is expected to prove useful in intravenous sedation during dental treatment. However, because the sensor is attached to the forehead, which may be close to the site of operation, and because no neuromuscular blocking drugs are used, monitoring may be excessively interrupted by artifacts such as electromyographic input. Thus, we investigated the usefulness of bispectral index monitoring for patients under intravenous sedation during dental treatment. The incidence of "good" electroencephalograms, for which the electromyogram was less than 50 dB, signal quality index was more than 25%, and impedance was less than 10 kOhms, was 82.4% +/- 9.2%. These findings suggest that bispectral index monitoring will prove effective for intravenous sedation during dental treatment.

Anxiety is known to cause feelings of uneasiness, tension, and nervousness, and previous studies have noted that anxiety and its effects may have an effect on out-patient sedation for patients undergoing surgical procedures. In this study, we assess the effects of anxiety on 25 outpatients undergoing intravenous sedation for third molar extraction. Before the procedure, subjects completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and intraoperative patient movement was assessed using a subjective scale. We found that patients with a high level of preoperative anxiety had a greater degree of average intraoperative movement (P = .037) and also required a greater amount of propofol to maintain a clinically acceptable level of sedation (P = .0273) when compared with patients with less preoperative anxiety. Increased state anxiety and trait anxiety serve as predictors for an increased total dose requirement of propofol to maintain an acceptable level of sedation (r2 = 0.285, P = .0060, and r2 = 0.233, P = .0146, respectively). An increased level of trait anxiety was also a predictor of an increased degree of average intraoperative movement (r2 = 0.342, P = .0022). Patients who exhibit a high level of preoperative anxiety require a greater total dose of propofol to achieve and maintain a clinically acceptable level of sedation and are more prone to unwanted movement while under sedation.

This report describes a case of sudden ventilatory failure, originally diagnosed as bronchospasm, in a child during general anesthesia. A blood clot impaction in the nasotracheal tube was detected using flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy. The clot was successfully treated as a result of its passage. We hope this report will stress to dental anesthesiologists the intraoperative importance of fiberoptic bronchoscopy not only as an intubation-aiding device but also as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool.

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It is often difficult to expeditiously establish an intravenous (IV) route in a medical emergency, and alternatives to an IV route may also be difficult for many dentists to accomplish. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that without the necessity of advanced training, the nasal mucosa route of administration is a promising alternative to the IV route in an emergency without complications, and will also show that epinephrine can be quickly absorbed into systemic circulation from the nasal mucosa. Ten beagle dogs were administered 400 microg of epinephrine in the nasal septal mucosa. The mean peak value of the plasma epinephrine (20.1 +/- 12.4 ng/mL) was obtained after 15 seconds, and the peak systolic pressure was 200% of the control value after 60 seconds. Although the dose of epinephrine must be considered because blood flow decreases during cardiopulmonary resuscitation, this method presents a promising alternative to the IV route.

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The phenomenon of diffusion hypoxia is commonly believed to occur unless nitrous oxide-oxygen inhalation sedation is followed by "washout" with 100% oxygen for 5 minutes upon termination of the flow of nitrous oxide. When systematically studied, however, this phenomenon generally appears to be unfounded. The present study evaluated the effect of breathing room air instead of 100% oxygen in healthy (ASA 1) human volunteers following administration of sedative concentrations of nitrous oxide. The occurrence of hypoxia was determined objectively, using pulse oximetry and a standardized psychomotor skills test (Trieger test). Diffusion hypoxia was not observed using these criteria.

The effect of diazepam on blood glucose concentration (BGC) was investigated in a double-blind cross-over study in 10 healthy and 10 non-insulin-dependent diabetic subjects taking oral hypoglycemic drugs. In the first session, fasting blood samples were taken for blood glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin estimation and at 60, 80, 95, 125, and 155 minutes thereafter for glucose estimation. In another 2 sessions, a venous sample was taken immediately before premedication (5 mg diazepam or placebo randomly given during breakfast). One hour later a blood sample was taken, and the volunteers were submitted to periodontal treatment after injection of 1.8 mL of 2% mepivacaine with 1:100,000 adrenaline. Venous blood samples were taken at 15, 30, 60, and 90 minutes after injection. The changes in BGC were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) for repeated measures; the means were compared using Tukey test (P = .05). Statistically significant differences in the BGC were observed between diabetic and nondiabetic groups (P = .00003). However, there were no significant differences among the sessions of the same group (P = .29). The results of this study show that a single dose of 5 mg diazepam before dental treatment does not influence BGC in nondiabetic and non-insulin-dependent diabetic subjects.

A healthy but slightly pale 24-year-old female patient with a history of "turning blue" following dental procedures performed under local anesthesia claimed allergies to sulfa drugs, aspirin, Benadryl, and "all caines." The patient also acknowledged mild cyanosis after extreme exertion, Native American ancestry, and a 1996 diagnosis of methemoglobinemia following administration of a sulfa drug. Previous medical and dental records were reviewed. Restoration of several teeth and extraction of 2 third-molar teeth were completed under general anesthesia. Anesthesia was induced with propofol, nasotracheal intubation was accomplished with succinylcholine, and anesthesia was maintained with desflurane in oxygen supplemented by meperidine without local anesthesia. Vital signs, including pulse oximetry, remained stable, and the patient was dismissed after a 2-hour recovery/observation period. The patient experienced no postoperative complications. This case report provides a review of literature and clinical guidelines for management of methemoglobinemia-susceptible patients.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of local anesthetic blockade of afferent innervation on the development of capsaicin-induced edema in the rat temporomandibular joint (TMJ) region and on reflex jaw muscle activity. Under halothane anesthesia, 64 male Sprague-Dawley rats were prepared for monitoring of edema development by lateral movement of a needle overlying the left TMJ region and for acute recording of electromyographic activity in ipsilateral digastric and masseter muscles. A double-barrel catheter was inserted into the TMJ region for delivery of saline or 0.5% bupivacaine from 1 needle, followed with the injection of 1% capsaicin, 0.1% capsaicin, or vehicle control from the other needle 5 minutes later. Application of capsaicin into the saline pretreated TMJ region led to dose-dependent edema development and reflex jaw muscle activity; however, only 1% capsaicin solution resulted in significant tissue expansion and muscle activity when compared with the vehicle control. Pretreatment of the rat TMJ region with bupivacaine failed to inhibit capsaicin-induced edema development, although successful blockade of nerve conduction was confirmed with the absence of reflex jaw muscle activity. Capsaicin-induced edema of the rat TMJ region developed independent of axonal conduction, suggesting neurogenic inflammation may arise regardless of functional nerve conduction.

The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that dental pain control using infiltration/intrapapillary injection was less effective than inferior alveolar block/long buccal infiltration anesthesia in children. A total of 101 healthy children, aged 5-8 years, who had no contraindication for local anesthetic and who needed a pulpotomy treatment and stainless steel crown placement in a lower primary molar were studied. A 2-group randomized blinded controlled design was employed comparing the 2 local anesthesia techniques using 2% lidocaine, 1:100,000 epinephrine. All children were given 40% nitrous oxide. Children self-reported pain using the Color Analogue Scale. The study was conducted in a private pediatric dental practice in Mount Vernon, Wash. Overall pain levels reported by the children were low, and there were no differences between conditions at any point in the procedure. Pain reports for clamp placement were block/long buccal 2.8 and infiltration/intrapapillary 1.9 (P = .1). Pain reports for drilling were block/long buccal 2.0 and infiltration/intrapapillary 1.8 (P = .7). Nine percent of children required supplementary local anesthetic: 4 of 52 (7.7%) in the block/long buccal group and 5 of 49 (10.2%) in the infiltration/intrapapillary group (P = .07). The hypothesis that block/long buccal would be more effective than infiltration/intrapapillary was not supported. There was no difference in pain control effectiveness between infiltration/intrapapillary injection and inferior alveolar block/long buccal infiltration using 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine when mandibular primary molars received pulpotomy treatment and stainless steel crowns.