Phentolamine speeds up recovery from dental nerve block numbness in children

Managing pediatric dental pain often requires local anesthesia, especially during procedures like pulpotomies. Quick recovery from numbness is crucial to prevent accidental self-injury like biting soft tissues by kids. A new study explored how pre- and postoperative Ibuprofen, combined with Phentolamine mesylate could affect pain and shorten recovery times in children undergoing mandibular primary molar pulpotomy. This randomized clinical trial enrolled 60 children aged 6-8 years. The enrolled volunteers were randomly divided into four groups of 15.

• Group 1: Received an Ibuprofen tablet 1 hour before the procedure
• Group 2: Received Ibuprofen 30 minutes after the pulpotomy
• Group 3: Received Ibuprofen 1 hour before the procedure and received a Phentolamine mesylate injection
• Group 4: Received a Phentolamine mesylate injection immediately after the pulpotomy and took Ibuprofen 30 minutes later

Inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) anesthesia with 2% lignocaine and 1:100,000 epinephrine was used for pulpotomy in each group. All the kids were monitored for soft-tissue anesthesia duration, behavior scores, pain ratings, and the incidence of post-sugery self-injuries. The injection of Phentolamine markedly reduced the time for complete reversal of anesthetic symptoms on the tongue and lip (P < 0.001).

However, neither Phentolamine nor the timing of Ibuprofen administration had a pivotal impact on behavior, pain experience, or the incidence of self-inflicted injuries in the children. To sum up, Phentolamine use significantly shortens the duration of anesthesia. However, pre- or postoperative Ibuprofen use does not substantially impact pain scores.