Use of Dexmedetomidine in Dentistry as an Additive to Local Anesthesia in Place of Adrenaline

Introduction: Dexmedetomidine as a newer or novel chemical tornique with supposingly longer duration of action has been compared with the classical injection lignocaine with adrenaline in Dentistry. The present paper reports study comparing clinical efficacy and potency of this newer emerging drug in combination with lignocaine. Materials and Methods: Twenty five patients undergoing extraction were locally infiltrated with 2 % lignocaine plus dexmedetomidine 1 ????/ml and 2 % lignocaine plus adrenaline in 1: 100, 000 dilutions at two different appointments. The onset of action, duration of action, and pain threshold were assessed. Results: Onset of action was found to be faster with longer duration of action with the newer drug dexmedetomidine and lignocaine combination when compared with combination of lignocaine and adrenaline. Conclusion: The study demonstrated that the combination of dexmedetomidine with lignocaine enhances the local anesthetic potency of lignocaine without significant systemic effects when locally injected into oral mucosa.