Dentistry recently lost another great leader when Norman Trieger, DMD, MD, unexpectedly passed away on October 13, 2012, in Atlanta, Georgia. Norman was born in New York City in 1929. After completing high school, he graduated with a BA degree from Emory University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest academic honor society for the liberal arts and sciences in the United States. He then entered Harvard School of Dental Medicine and graduated in 1954 with awards from the American Academy of Dental Medicine and the American Society of Dentistry for Children. Dr Trieger subsequently completed his

Abstract

The purpose of this prospective, randomized, single-blind study was to determine the anesthetic efficacy of 127.2 mg lidocaine with 50 μg epinephrine compared to 127.2 mg lidocaine with 50 μg epinephrine plus 0.5 M mannitol in inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) blocks. Forty subjects randomly received 2 IAN blocks consisting of a 3.18 mL formulation of 127.2 mg lidocaine with 50 μg epinephrine and a 5 mL formulation of 127.2 mg lidocaine with 50 μg epinephrine (3.18 mL) plus 0.5 M mannitol (1.82 mL) in 2 separate appointments spaced at least 1 week apart. Mandibular anterior and posterior teeth were blindly electric pulp tested at 4-minute cycles for 60 minutes postinjection. Pain of solution deposition and postoperative pain were also measured. No response from the subject to the maximum output (80 reading) of the pulp tester was used as the criterion for pulpal anesthesia. Total percent pulpal anesthesia was defined as the total of all the times of pulpal anesthesia (80 readings) over the 60 minutes. One hundred percent of the subjects had profound lip numbness with both inferior alveolar nerve blocks. The results demonstrated that a 5 mL formulation of 127.2 mg lidocaine with 50 μg epinephrine plus 0.5 M mannitol was significantly better than the 3.18 mL formulation of 127.2 mg lidocaine with 50 μg epinephrine for all teeth. Solution deposition pain and postoperative pain were not statistically different between the lidocaine/mannitol formulation and the lidocaine formulation without mannitol. We concluded that adding 0.5 M mannitol to a lidocaine with epinephrine formulation was significantly more effective in achieving a greater percentage of total pulpal anesthesia than a lidocaine formulation without mannitol.

Abstract

Many patients with disabilities need recurrent dental treatment under general anesthesia because of high caries prevalence and the nature of dental treatment. We evaluated the use of a nasal device as a possible substitute for flexible laryngeal mask airway to reduce the risk of unexpected failure accompanying intubation; we succeeded in ventilating the lungs with a cut nasotracheal tube (CNT) with its tip placed in the pharynx. We hypothesized that this technique would be useful during dental treatment under general anesthesia and investigated its usefulness as part of a minimally invasive technique. A prospective study was designed using general anesthesia in 37 dental patients with disabilities such as intellectual impairment, autism, and cerebral palsy. CNT ventilation was compared with mask ventilation with the patient in 3 positions: the neck in flexion, horizontal position, and in extension. The effect of mouth gags was also recorded during CNT ventilation. The percentages of cases with effective ventilation were similar for the 2 techniques in the neck extension and horizontal positions (89.2–97.3%). However, CNT ventilation was significantly more effective than mask ventilation in the neck flexion position (94.6 vs 45.9%; P < .0001). Mouth gags slightly reduced the rate of effective ventilation in the neck flexion position. Most dental treatments involving minor oral surgeries were performed using mouth gags during CNT ventilation. CNT ventilation was shown to be superior to mask ventilation and is useful during dental treatment under general anesthesia.

Abstract

The purpose of this trial was to assess the effect of soft tissue massage on the efficacy of the mental and incisive nerve block (MINB). Thirty-eight volunteers received MINB of 2.2 mL of 2% lidocaine with 1 : 80,000 epinephrine on 2 occasions. At one visit the soft tissue overlying the injection site was massaged for 60 seconds (active treatment). At the other visit the crowns of the mandibular premolar teeth were massaged (control treatment). Order of treatments was randomized. An electronic pulp tester was used to measure pulpal anesthesia in the ipsilateral mandibular first molar, a premolar, and lateral incisor teeth up to 45 minutes following the injection. The efficacy of pulp anesthesia was determined by 2 methods: (a) by quantifying the number of episodes with no response to maximal electronic pulp stimulation after each treatment, and (b) by quantifying the number of volunteers with no response to maximal pulp stimulation (80 reading) on 2 or more consecutive tests, termed anesthetic success. Data were analyzed by McNemar, Mann-Whitney, and paired-samples t tests. Anesthetic success was 52.6% for active and 42.1% for control treatment for lateral incisors, 89.5 and 86.8% respectively for premolars, and 50.0 and 42.1% respectively for first molars (P = .344, 1.0, and .508 respectively). There were no significant differences in the number of episodes of negative response to maximum pulp tester stimulation between active and control massage. A total of 131 episodes were recorded after both active and control massage in lateral incisors (McNemar test, P = 1.0), 329 (active) versus 316 (control) episodes in the premolars (McNemar test, P = .344), and 119 (active) versus 109 (control) episodes respectively for first molars (McNemar test, P = .444). Speed of anesthetic onset and discomfort did not differ between treatments. We concluded that soft tissue massage after MINB does not influence anesthetic efficacy.

Norman Trieger, DMD, MD 1929–2012

Anesthetic Efficacy of a Combination of 0.5 M Mannitol Plus 127.2 mg of Lidocaine With 50 μg Epinephrine in Inferior Alveolar Nerve Blocks: A Prospective Randomized, Single-Blind Study

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Ventilation via Cut Nasotracheal Tube During General Anesthesia

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Effect of Massage on the Efficacy of the Mental and Incisive Nerve Block

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Continuous Veno-Venous Hemofiltration for Massive Rhabdomyolysis After Malignant Hyperthermia: Report of 2 Cases

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Basic and Clinical Pharmacology of Glucocorticosteroids

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Continuing Education Program

Commentary: Are Anesthesiologists Still “Darting” Their Patients?

Immunohistochemical Analysis of Maxillary Nerve Distribution in Rats

General Anesthesia for a Child With a Living Donor Liver Transplant After Hepatoblastoma and Metastatic Lung Tumor Resection

Difficulty Controlling Sedation Level Using Processed Electroencephalography Monitoring in a Patient With Intellectual Disability, Fontan Circulation, and a Severe Gag Reflex

A Case in Which the Hole in the Inflation Line Was Not Closed at the Tip of the Tracheal Tube

Mistaken Endobronchial Placement of a Nasogastric Tube During Mandibular Fracture Surgery

The Effect of Intraoral Suction on Oxygen-Enriched Surgical Environments: A Mechanism for Reducing the Risk of Surgical Fires

Letter to the Editor

Monheim LM. Analgesia in dentistry now and in the future. Anesth Prog. 1971;18(5):100–106 and J Am Analg Soc. 1971:9:1(abstract).

A Review of Current Literature of Interest to the Office-Based Anesthesiologist