Efficacy of articaine infiltration versus lidocaine inferior alveolar nerve block for pulpotomy in mandibular primary second molars: A randomized clinical trial

Background: Successful anesthesia is a major concern in during pulpotomy treatment. The aim of this study was to compare the anesthetic efficacy of inferior alveolar nerve block using 2% lidocaine and buccal infiltration using 4% articaine for pulpotomy of mandibular primary second molars. Methods: This randomized cross-over clinical trial was performed in 23 children (five to eight-year-old) from July through November 2016, referred to the Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Tehran University of Medical Sciences who needed pulpotomy treatment in both mandibular primary second molars. The Patients’ feeling during injection and their behavior during pulpotomy and post-treatment complications were registered. Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test was used for analyzing the data. A significant level of differences was taken as p≤ 0.05. Results: Patients’ feeling during injection and post-treatment complications did not significantly differ between two groups (p>0.05). Patients’ behavior during pulpotomy was significantly better in articaine group (p=0.004). Conclusion: Articaine buccal infiltration can be used successfully in pulpotomy of mandibular primary second molars. Iranian Registry of Clinical Trial: (IRCT2015042321484N2).