Administration of local anesthesia (LA) for dental procedures is a frequent cause of discomfort, apprehension 1 , 2 and anxiety 1 in patients. Various modalities are practiced to reduce this discomfort, which include warming the cartridge, providing vibration, pressure, or cold at the site of injection, distraction techniques, and lastly application of topical anesthesia, which is commonly practiced in modern dentistry. 3
Topical anesthetics target free nerve endings in the mucosa and block nerve impulse conduction thereby