The Efficacy of a Topical Anesthetic Gel in the Relief of Pain Associated With Localized Alveolar Osteitis

PurposeThis prospective randomized clinical study assessed the efficacy of pain control for postextraction alveolar osteitis comparing the use of eugenol on a gauze strip versus a thermosetting gel containing 2.5% prilocaine and 2.5% lidocaine.Patients and MethodsThirty-five patients who presented with postextraction alveolar osteitis were randomly assigned to either a control group or test group. After irrigation of the extraction site with normal saline solution, the control patients were treated with eugenol on a gauze strip placed in the socket and the test patients were treated with the thermosetting gel placed directly into the socket. All patients were given a series of visual analog scales to record their pretreatment pain and post-treatment pain at 5, 10, and 15 minutes and then at 1-hour increments during waking hours for the next 48 hours. They were also given a prescription for an analgesic to use for breakthrough pain during the 48-hour period, if necessary, and instructed to record the dose and timing of any pain medication taken. All patients were seen for follow-up at 48 hours after treatment.ResultsThe mean pretreatment pain score was 6.72 on a scale ranging from 1 to 10 for the eugenol group and 6.37 for the prilocaine-lidocaine group (SE, 0.46), and the 2 groups were not different (P = .62). In the immediate post-treatment period (0-15 minutes) the pain levels were significantly reduced in both groups (Ps < .001). However, the thermosetting gel produced a significantly greater reduction in pain (mean, 3.23; SE, 0.62) than the eugenol (mean, 4.83; SE, 0.43) (P = .022). Over the next 48 hours, the pain level was nominally less with the thermosetting gel, but this difference was not statistically significant (Ps = .2).ConclusionAlthough the efficacy of the 2 treatments was not significantly different, the nominal superiority and ease of using the thermosetting gel warrant further investigation.