Effectiveness of clove oil as a topical anesthetic during inferior alveolar nerve block: A randomized, single-blinded, active-controlled clinical study

Introduction
Administration of local anesthesia is a source of patients’ discomfort and anxiety, particularly inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB). In pediatric dentistry, topical anesthesia is widely used before local anesthesia administration. Benzocaine is the most commonly used topical anesthesia agent. However, the increasing number of adverse effects related to topical anesthetic agents, especially in children, is the main reason to search for alternative substances.

Objectives
The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of clove oil and 20% benzocaine gel in reducing pain during IANB in pediatric patients aged 7-11 years.

Material and methods
This was a single‐blinded, parallel‐group, randomized active-controlled study. Sixty children were randomly assigned into two groups based on topical anesthetic agent used. Group 1: 20% benzocaine gel was applied (control group); group 2: Clove oil was used consisting of 83.7% eugenol. 0.3 ml of each topical anesthetic was applied for three minutes, then IANB was performed. Sounds, eyes, motor (SEM) scale, and Wong–Baker faces pain rating scale (WBFPS) were assessed as primary outcome measures.

Results
The mean score of SEM scale in group 1 (1.10 ± 0.18) was approximately equal to that in group 2 (1.06 ± 0.13), and the mean score of WBFPS scale in group 1 (1.03 ± 0.18) was comparable with that of group 2 (0.93 ± 0.17). The results of Mann-Whitney U test for SEM and WBFPS scales showed no statistical difference between study groups, with p = 0.326 and p = 0.714, respectively.

Conclusions
Clove oil is as effective as 20% benzocaine gel in reducing pain during inferior alveolar nerve block analgesia.