Evaluation of Pain on Probing using Anaesthetic Gel in Chronic Periodontitis Patients with True Pressure Sensitive Probe: A Placebo Controlled Trial

Introduction: Periodontal diagnosis and treatment plan rely on an important aspect which is called as the periodontal probing. However, probing has proven to be a painful procedure especially in untreated chronic periodontitis patients. In an effort to reduce the pain while probing various anaesthetic gels were used and have shown better results. Aim: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the pain elicited during probing pocket depth estimation in a split mouth using anaesthetic gel (Lox 2%) and Placebo. Materials and Methods: The present study was a randomized, placebo-controlled trial, double masked, split mouth study. It was conducted by using a True Pressure Sensitive probe (TPS), wherein probing was done in each quadrant having probing pocket depth >5mm. Randomization was done for application of anaesthetic gel and placebo within the pocket. After 30 seconds of application with the test (Anaesthetic gel Lox 2%, NEON LABORATORIES) and control (placebo) probing was performed. Pain was assessed using visual analogue scale rating from 0 to 10 with ‘0’ as no pain and ‘10’ rating the worst pain. Statistical analysis was done using Mann-Whitney test. Results: The mean VAS score for the test group was 0.621±0.25 and the placebo group was 3.22±1.08. Significant difference in the mean VAS scores was found between the test group and the placebo group. Conclusion: Administration of LOX 2% gel in periodontal pockets prior to probing have shown a significant reduction in pain while probing.