Objectives: There is significant evidence that articaine and lidocaine buccal injections alone are sufficient for painless extraction of maxillary teeth. The aim of this study was to evaluate the extraction of permanent maxillary teeth and to compare pain control between articaine and lidocaine without palatal injection.
Materials and methods: Group A received buccal and palatal injections of 2% lidocaine with 0.015 mg/ml epinephrine. Group B received only buccal local anesthetic injection of 2% lidocaine with 0.015 mg/ml epinephrine. Group C received only buccal injection of 4% articaine with 0.012 mg/ml epinephrine. The patients' perception of pain was assessed using visual analogue scale and verbal response scale after the injection and the extraction.
Results: Statistical analysis showed that the difference in pain perception of local anesthetic injection was statistically significant between groups A and B and between groups A and C (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: The extraction of permanent maxillary teeth is possible without palatal injections and there is no difference between articaine and lidocaine.
Clinical relevance: Local anesthetic agents are the most frequently administered drugs in dentistry and represent the primary method of pain control for patients undergoing intraoral procedures.
Keywords: Articaine; Buccal infiltration; Lidocaine; Maxillary teeth extraction; Palatal injection; Visual analogue scale.