A Comparison of 2% Lidocaine and Epinephrine with 3% Mepivacaine in Inferior Alveolar Nerve Block

The purpose of this study was evaluation of anesthesia success rate of 3% mepivacaine compared with 2% lidocaine 1/80000 epinephrine in inferior alveolar nerve block in thirty voluntary students. All of the subjects were healthy and had not received any medicament. They pariticipated for two appointments and each time randomly received an inferior alveolar nerve injection with one of the anesthetic solutions. Before anesthesia the first molar, second premolar, and canine teeth were tested with electric pulp tester (EPT). After injection, when subjects felt numbness in inferior lip, the time for starting of anesthesia was recorded according to schedule time from 3 to 49 minutes after lip numbness. When teeth had no response to EPT in maximal output, the pupal anesthesia was achieved. The t paired test was used for data analysis. Results showed that although subjects felt numbness in their lips, anesthetic success was defined only 76.6% in molars, 73.3% in premolars, and 66.7% in canine teeth after injection of mepivacaine. Success was defined 66.7% & 76.7% in molars and premolars and 53.3% in canine teeth when 2% lidocaine 1/80000 epinephrine was administered. No statistically significant difference was found in onset, success or failure rate between both anesthetic solutions in lidocaine group, however, premolar and molar teeth showed significant differences with canine teeth.