The Effect of Different Vasoconstrictors and Local Anesthetic Solutions on Substance P Expression in Human Dental Pulp

The purpose of this study was to quantify the effect of the infiltration injection of different vasoconstrictor and anesthetic solutions on substance P (SP) expression in healthy human dental pulp. Thirty pulp samples were obtained from healthy upper premolars in which extraction was indicated for orthodontic reasons and were randomly assigned into three groups of 10 samples each: 2% lidocaine with 1:80,000 epinephrine (Lido group), 3% Prilocaine with 1:200000 felypressin (Prilo group); and 4% Prilocaine without vasoconstrictor (Prilo-no-VC group). All teeth were extracted 10 minutes after anesthetic application. Pulp samples were processed and SP was measured by radioimmunoassay. SP expression for the Lido, Prilo, and Prilo-no-VC groups were 616.49, 663.76, and 760.79 pmol/mg pulp tissue, respectively. Analysis of variance showed statistically significant differences between groups (p = 0.001). Tukey Honestly Significant Difference (HSD) post hoc tests showed significant statistical differences between the Prilo-no-VC group and the Lido group (p < 0.01) and between the Prilo-no-VC group and the Prilo group (p < 0.05). It can be concluded that infiltration injection of local anesthetics with vasoconstrictor attenuate SP expression in human dental pulp. (J Endod 2009;35:631-633)