A Survey Of Dental Surgeons In Ghana On Their Utilization Of Supplemental Local Anaesthetic Methods During Root Canal Therapy

Abstract

Background: Teeth with irreversibly inflamed pulps can be preserved with endodontic or root canal treatment (RCT). The primary methods used to manage pain during RCT are local infiltration injections and nerve blocks. When infiltrations are used, it is reasonable that the acidic nature of inflamed tissues, can reduce the availability of the active form of the local anaesthetic agent. In the case of nerve blocks, the acidity of the inflamed tissue is unlikely to play a significant role in the failure to achieve anaesthesia. Supplementalanaesthesia methods including periodontal ligament injection (intraligamentary), intraosseous injection, and intra-pulpal injection have been suggested as adjuncts to obtaining complete anaesthesia of the symptomatic irreversibly inflamed dental pulp.Aim: This study was to ascertain the types of supplemental anaesthesia techniques, and their levels of utilization during lower molar RCT in Ghana.Materials and methods: An online survey was done by e-mailing questionnaires to practicing dental surgeons registered on the Ghana Dental Association(GDA), google’s group platform. Data obtained was analyzed using SPSS version 21.Results: Eighty-five percent (34) of respondents indicated that they employ supplemental injections during RCT. Pulpal and intraligamentary techniques were the most commonly used, with 70.6% and 47.1% of dentists reporting utilization respectively.Conclusion: There is the need for update courses in the utilization of intraosseous supplemental local anaesthesia. Other supplemental injection techniques like the inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) plus nitrous oxide inhalation have to be introduced to dentistscarrying out RCT, so they can add such techniques to their pain management portfolio.