COMPARISON OF PAIN PERCEIVED BY PATIENTS UNDERGOING INTRA ORAL LOCAL ANESTHESIA USING DIFFERENT NEEDLE GAUGES

Objective: To compare the difference in pain perceived by patients undergoing intra-oral local anesthesia withdifferent gauge needles. Study Design: Qausi experimental study. Place and Duration of Study: Oral and Maxillofacial surgery department of Institute of Dentistry, CombinedMilitary Hospital, Lahore Medical College, Lahore, from July 2019 to August 2019. Methodology: One hundred patients were selected by consecutive sampling from the oral surgery OPD clinic.They were divided into two groups A and B randomly. Twenty three gauge needle on a 3cc disposable syringewas used for inferior alveolar nerve block and buccal nerve block for group A and 27 gauge needle on a metaldental syringe was used for the same in group B. Patients gave a verbal pain score, from 0-10 for each injection. Results: One Hundred participants were included in study, 37 (37%) males and 63 (63%) females. Mean painscore for group A for the inferior alveolar nerve block was 4.50 ± 2.1 and group B was 3.86 ± 2. The mean painscore for the buccal nerve block in group A was 4.02 ± 1.7, while that of group B was 3.94 ± 1.8. There was nosignificant difference (p=0.167 & 0.855) in pain perceived by patients undergoing intra oral local anesthesia using needles of different gauges. Conclusion: There is no difference in pain perceived by patients undergoing intra oral local anesthesia usingneedles of different gauges.