Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010 Jul;141(7):836-44.
doi: 10.14219/jada.archive.2010.0281.

Occurrence of paresthesia after dental local anesthetic administration in the United States

Gabriella A Garisto  1 , Andrew S Gaffen, Herenia P Lawrence, Howard C Tenenbaum, Daniel A Haas
Affiliations

Occurrence of paresthesia after dental local anesthetic administration in the United States

Gabriella A Garisto et al. J Am Dent Assoc. 2010 Jul.

Erratum in

  • J Am Dent Assoc. 2010 Aug;141(8):944

Abstract

Background: Several studies have suggested that the likelihood of paresthesia may depend on the local anesthetic used. The purpose of this study was to determine if the type of local anesthetic administered had any effect on reports of paresthesia in dentistry in the United States.

Methods: The authors obtained reports of paresthesia involving dental local anesthetics during the period from November 1997 through August 2008 from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System. They used chi(2) analysis to compare expected frequencies, on the basis of U.S. local anesthetic sales data, with observed reports of oral paresthesia.

Results: During the study period, 248 cases of paresthesia occurring after dental procedures were reported. Most cases (94.5 percent) involved mandibular nerve block. The lingual nerve was affected in 89.0 percent of cases. Reports involving 4 percent prilocaine and 4 percent articaine were 7.3 and 3.6 times, respectively, greater than expected (chi(2), P < .0001) on the basis of local anesthetic use by U.S. dentists.

Conclusions: These data suggest that paresthesia occurs more commonly after use of 4 percent local anesthetic formulations. These findings are consistent with those reported in a number of studies from other countries.

Clinical implications: Until further research indicates otherwise, dentists should consider these results when assessing the risks and benefits of using 4 percent local anesthetics for mandibular block anesthesia.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

  • Oral paresthesia.
    Moore PA, Hersh EV. Moore PA, et al. J Am Dent Assoc. 2010 Nov;141(11):1300-1; author reply 1302-3. doi: 10.14219/jada.archive.2010.0066. J Am Dent Assoc. 2010. PMID: 21037186 No abstract available.
  • More about oral paresthesia.
    Dower JS Jr. Dower JS Jr. J Am Dent Assoc. 2010 Nov;141(11):1301-2; author reply 1302-3. doi: 10.14219/jada.archive.2010.0067. J Am Dent Assoc. 2010. PMID: 21037187 No abstract available.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources