Evaluating the Effect of EMLA Anesthetic Gel on the Level of Pain upon Probing in Patients with Chronic Periodontitis

Background and aim: Probing is the only reliable method for diagnosing periodontal diseases; however, it is a painful examination. The purpose of this study was evaluation of the effect of EMLA anesthetic gel on the level of pain upon probing in patients with chronic periodontitis referring to the periodontology department of the dental branch of Islamic Azad University of Tehran during 2013-2014. Materials and methods: This double-blind split mouth clinical trial involved 20 eligible patients. All the teeth in two quadrants of each patient's mouth were randomly selected to be either treated with the anesthetic gel or the placebo and were probed in six points. Afterwards, the level of pain was measured using the VAS ruler. Thirty seconds after applying the gel and probing, the pain was measured again and registered. Results: The levels of pain before and after using the gel were compared using the statistical tests. The levels of pain before and after using the placebo gel were 5.4±1.8 and 5.1±1.8, respectively and pain variations in this group equaled 0.25±0.9 (P= 0.4). The levels of pain before and after using the anesthetic gel were 5.65±1.7 and 2.1±1.2, respectively. Pain variations in this group equaled 3.55±1.3 and this difference was statistically significant (P<0.001). Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that EMLA anesthetic gel is effective in reducing the pain upon probing.