Evaluation of lidocaine and mepivacaine for inferior third molar surgery.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to compare 2% lidocaine and 2% mepivacaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine for postoperative pain control. STUDY DESIGN A group of 35 patients, both genders were recruited, whose had ages ranged from 13 to 27 years-old and had two inferior third molars in similar positions to be extracted. The cartridges were distributed to the patients according to a randomised pattern, where lidocaine was in the control group and mepivacaine in the experimental group. RESULTS Results showed no significant association between the anesthetics and postoperative pain, pulp sensibility after one hour, gender, tooth position and duration of the surgical procedure. CONCLUSIONS It was shown that lidocaine and mepivacaine have similar time of anesthesia, they are adequate for surgical procedures that last one hour, and there was no difference between the two anesthetics in relation to the severety of post-operative pain.