[Anesthetic efficacy of an eutectic mixture of lidocaine and prilocaine (EMLA) on the oral mucosa: prospective double-blind study with a placebo].

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

The aim of this study was to evaluate the topical analgesic efficacy of an eutectic mixture of lignocaine and prilocaine (EMLA) cream on oral mucosa.

METHODS

The study evaluated a total of 52 patients of legal age to give their informed consent, requiring the removal of metal maxillary and/or mandibular splints used to contain fractures. A double-blind prospective study was carried out using EMLA cream and placebo during the removal of metal splints. The placebo cream contained the eccipients of EMLA cream without the active ingredients. After the removal of the metal clips, patients were invited to quantify the pain using a visual analog scale of 100 mm. Patients were then evaluated using an objective examination to identify the possible presence of alterations to the oral mucosa.

RESULTS

The analysis of results highlighted a statistically significant difference (p < 0.01) between EMLA cream (23 mm) and placebo (35.3 mm) in reducing pain consequent to the removal of metal splints and the relative pericoronal bindings. As shown by the results of this study, the analgesic effect of EMLA cream on oral mucosa allow the application of contact anesthesia to be broadened to oral surgery and dentistry, limiting it to those procedures that do not involve deep tissues and only require short-term anesthesia.