Anesthetic efficacy and pain induced by dental anesthesia: the influence of gender and menstrual cycle.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the influence of the menstrual cycle and oral contraceptives on pain sensitivity and local anesthetic effectiveness.

STUDY

DESIGN

Thirty volunteers were designated into 3 groups (n = 10): group 1, women using contraceptives; group 2, women not using contraceptives; and group 3, men. Groups 1 and 2 had a buccal infiltration of 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine at the upper-right canine during each one of the 5 phases of the menstrual cycle and group 3 at a randomly selected day. Pain threshold, latency period, and pulpal anesthesia were measured with an electrical pulp tester. Injection discomfort was recorded. Data were analyzed with Friedman and Kruskal-Wallis tests.

RESULTS

Pain threshold was higher in men; however, there were no significant differences (P > .05) in anesthetic duration and injection discomfort.

CONCLUSION

Injection discomfort and clinical effectiveness of local anesthetics are not related to sex, phases of the menstrual cycle, or use of oral contraceptives.