Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 14, 2026
Meal Duration as a Measure of Orofacial Nociceptive Responses in Rodents
Published on: January 10, 2014
Effect of 5% benzocaine gel on relieving pain caused by fixed orthodontic appliance activation. A double-blind
L Eslamian1, H Gholami2, S A R Mortazavi3
1Professor of Orthodontics, Dentofacial Deformities Research Center, Research Institute of Dental Sciences & Department of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Aim:
To compare the effectiveness of 5% benzocaine gel and placebo gel on reducing pain caused by fixed orthodontic appliance activation.
Setting And Sample Population:
Thirty subjects (15-25 years) undergoing fixed orthodontics.
Methods And Materials:
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and cross-over clinical trial study was conducted. Subjects were asked to apply a placebo gel and 5% benzocaine gel, exchangeable in two consecutive appointments, twice a day for 3 days and mark their level of pain on a VAS scale. The pain severity was evaluated by means of Mann-Whitney U-test for comparing two gel groups, Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric test for overall differences and post hoc test of Dunnett for paired multiple comparisons. p-value was assigned <0.05.
Results:
The overall mean value of pain intensity for benzocaine and placebo gels was 0.89 and 1.15, respectively. The Mann-Whitney U-test indicated that there was no significant difference between overall pain in both groups (mean difference = 0.258 p ˂ 0.21). For both groups, pain intensity was significantly lower at 2, 6 and 24 h compared with pain experienced at days 2, 3 and 7.
Conclusion:
Benzocaine gel caused a decrease in pain perception at 2 h compared with placebo gel. Peak pain intensity was at 2 h for placebo gel and at 6 h for benzocaine gel, followed by a decline in pain perception from that point to day 7 for both gels.
Related Concept Videos
01:23Local Anesthetics: Common Agents and Their Applications
Cocaine is an ester of benzoic acid and methylecgogine. It is used to anesthetize and vasoconstrict locally. Currently, it is used primarily for topical applications. It is beneficial for surgeries on the upper respiratory tract, providing anesthesia and shrinking the mucosa. Cocaine in the form of cocaine hydrochloride is...
01:23Local Anesthetics: Mechanism of Action
Local anesthetics are amphiphilic molecules consisting of a hydrophobic aromatic part linked to a hydrophilic group by an ester or amide linkage. They are weak bases and are usually available as salts, which increases their solubility and stability. Once administered, LAs exist in the body either...
01:30Local Anesthetics: Clinical Application as Surface, Infiltration, and Conduction Block Anesthesia
01:30Local Anesthetics: Chemistry and Structure-Activity Relationship
01:29Local Anesthetics: Clinical Application as Epidural Anesthesia
Since epidural anesthetics can be infused through an epidural catheter, all types of drugs, including short-acting ones, can be administered. Chloroprocaine and lidocaine are examples of short and long-duration anesthetics, respectively. Bupivacaine...
01:11Local Anesthetics: Clinical Application as Spinal Anesthesia