Managing the pain many patients feel at dental appointments might become easier since compounds containing potassium nitrate have been shown to desensitize teeth during whitening, crown and bridge preparations, with a cavity liner in composite and amalgam restorations, mixed with cement for temporary crowns, and as a direct anesthetic for the pulp. Potassium nitrate (KNO3) depolarizes pulpal nerves, limiting their ability to transmit painful stimuli. In one study, a gel used for direct pulpal anesthesia was tested for use dur-ing routine dental hygiene appointments. The test was run using a gel containing 35% KNO3, 20% benzocaine, and 10% tetracaine in aqueous solution; 200 patients ranging from 18 to 85 years old were chosen at random as part of the double-blind study. Gel No. 1 contained KNO3, and gel No. 2 was an aqueous solution of hydroxyethyl cellulose. Patient treatment began after placing the gel and waiting 2 minutes. Treatment consisted of scaling, curettage, ultrasonic scaling, prophyjet polishing, and flossing. Immediately after treatment, patients completed a verbal 5-point scale to rate pain (zero=no pain to 4=very severe). In addition, patients rated their subjective pain from zero to 100 mm on a visual scale (zero=no pain to 100 mm=”pain as bad as it could be”). Results indicated that 91 of the 100 patients using gel No. 1 had no pain. Nine patients reported slight pain. None of the 100 patients who used gel No. 1 reported moderate, severe, or very severe pain. Of those patients who used gel No. 2, all reported some pain, 77 reported moderate pain, 17 reported severe pain, and one reported “very severe” pain. There were no side effects reported with either gel. Patients who experienced their treatment with gel No. 1 indicated they would request the gel to be used at future appointments.
(Source: Dental Abstracts, Volume 53, Issue 4, 2008)
