The purpose of this prospective, randomized, single-blind study was to evaluate the reversal of soft tissue anesthesia in endodontic patients. Eighty-five adult subjects (51 females and 34 males) who had asymptomatic teeth requiring endodontic treatment received either OraVerse™ or sham injection(s) at the end of the procedure. Soft tissue anesthesia was monitored by the subjects every 15 minutes for 5 hours. Subjects reported postoperative injection site and experimental tooth pain using a Heft-Parker visual analog scale every 30 minutes for the first two postoperative hours, and every hour for three hours.
There was a statistically significant difference in time to return to normal sensation for the maxillary lip/cheek, mandibular lip, maxillary gingiva, and mandibular gingiva. Subjects who received OraVerse™ experienced a 88-minute decrease in time to return to normal maxillary lip/cheek sensation, a 47-minute decrease in time to return to normal mandibular lip and maxillary gingival sensation, and a 41-minute decrease in time to return to normal mandibular gingival sensation. There was a 27-minute decrease in time to return to normal tongue sensation for subjects in the OraVerse™ group, which was not statistically significant.
Subjects who received OraVerse™ did not experience significantly more postoperative discomfort at the injection site or from the endodontically-treated tooth. Postoperative complications were minimal, and no adverse reactions to the OraVerse™ were reported. OraVerse™ may be beneficial for asymptomatic patients who would like to experience a faster return to normal soft tissue function and sensation after the administration of local anesthesia for endodontic treatment.