Clinical features
The patient has expressed fear and discomfort with the anesthetic procedure since he was a child. In their own words, they stated, ”I would prefer to feel pain during cleaning and restoration than to take anesthesia.”
It used a carpule with a backflow prevention mechanism, two long needles, two tubes of Mepivacaine 2% with epinephrine 1:100,000, a low-power laser device (MMOpticsTM), and protective eyewear. (Figure 2-A).
To eliminate any potential placebo effect, the patient was blind to the procedures. A website https://www.sealedenvelope.com was employed to determine the initial treatment on the right side. Therefore, the right side was laser sham, while the left side was effective laser.
Figure 2- A) Materials used; B) Positioning of the laser; C) Puncture site