Topical anesthetics are routinely used in dental practice for various purposes. They are usually available at higher dosages and have serious potential adverse reactions, such as seizures, anaphylaxis, and acquired methemoglobinemia. To date, the scope of application of herbal plants and their extracts, which have medicinal properties, has been elaborated in the field of dentistry. The growing interest in herbal medication can be attributed to the increased safety profile of herbal agents, in contrast to synthetic preparations that have a higher risk of systemic complications. Herbal preparations can induce topical anesthesia with minimal side effects. Recently, many studies have reported the use of topical herbal preparations. The current review aimed to evaluate data from various articles comparing the capacity of herbal topical anesthetic formulations and conventional synthetic anesthetics in reducing pain perception when used as local anesthesia before dental procedures.

This study aimed to evaluate and compare the pre-emptive analgesic efficacy of injected ketorolac to that of other agents for impacted third molar surgical removal in a healthy population.PubMed, Ovid SP, Cochrane databases were filtered from 1980 to July 2020 for potential papers using relevant MeSH terms and pre-specified inclusion and exclusion criteria independently by reviewers. Studies that compared pre-emptive intramuscular or intravenous administration of ketorolac to other agents were evaluated. The outcomes sought were self-reported postoperative pain (patient-perceived pain), median duration for rescue analgesic medication, total number of analgesics consumed in the recovery period, and global assessment (overall patient satisfaction) after the recovery period.Six studies were included in the final evaluation. The outcome of pain perception and the number of analgesics taken were significantly lower in the ketorolac group (intramuscular or intravenous) in most of the studies (n=5) than in the group of other drugs. The mean time for rescue analgesia intake was higher for the ketorolac group, and global assessment scores were also better in the ketorolac group.Although the included studies show significantly better outcomes such as postoperative pain, median time taken for rescue medication, total number of analgesics taken, and overall patient satisfaction with injected ketorolac group in comparison to injected diclofenac, dexamethasone, and tramadol, definitive conclusions cannot be made regarding the superiority of injected Ketorolac as a pre-emptive agent. A greater number of randomized control trials with a proper protocol are needed to make definitive conclusions.

Background: Dental anxiety is a matter of serious concern to pediatric dentists as it may impede the efficient delivery of dental care. If not adequately resolved, a persistent negative response pattern may emerge. Thaumaturgy, commonly known as magic trick, has become popular recently. It is a tool that distracts and relaxes the child by using magic trick while the dentist performs necessary treatment. Hence, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Thaumaturgic aid in alleviation of anxiety in 4–6 – year-old children during administration of local anesthesia using the inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) technique. Methods: Thirty children aged between 4–6 years with dental anxiety requiring IANB were included in this study. Patients were divided equally into two groups: Group I, thaumaturgic aid group and Group II, conventional non-pharmacological group using randomization. Anxiety was measured before and after using the intervention with Raghavendra Madhuri Sujata-Pictorial scale (RMS-PS), Venham’s anxiety rating scale, and pulse rate. All the data were tabulated and compared using statistical analysis. Results: Children in thaumaturgy group (Group- I) exhibited significantly lower anxiety during IANB in comparison with children in the conventional group (Group- II) and the difference was statistically significant. Conclusion Magic tricks are effective in reducing anxiety among young children during IANB; Moreover, it expands the arsenal of behavior guidance techniques for treatment of children with anxiety and plays an important role in shaping the behavior of a child in pediatric dentistry.