(PO63) Efficacy of the TuttleNumbNow Technique for Pulpal Anesthesia in the Mandibular First Molar

Abstract: Previous studies on intraosseous (IO) anesthesia as a primary injection have shown high success rates. TuttleNumbNow (TNN) is a new intraosseous injection technique that has not been scientifically evaluated. Therefore, the purpose of this prospective, randomized, crossover study was to evaluate the anesthetic efficacy of the TNN IO technique using the Septoject Evolution needle when compared to buccal infiltration for pulpal anesthesia in the mandibular first molar. A total of 104 healthy subjects were randomly assigned to two treatment groups, separated by at least two weeks. One set of injections consisted of a buccal infiltration of the mandibular first molar using 1.8 mL of 4% articaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine, followed by a mock TNN injection distal to the mandibular first molar. The other set of injections was a mock buccal infiltration of the mandibular first molar, followed by a TNN injection of 1.8 mL of 4% articaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine distal to the mandibular first molar. McNemar’s test was used for anesthetic comparison. The mandibular first molar had a 42% anesthetic success with the buccal infiltration compared to 46% with the TNN. No statistically significant difference in success was observed (p = .2115). Therefore, the two techniques were similar regarding pulpal anesthesia. The TNN technique was intended as that of an intraosseous injection. However, issues related to the technique resulted in an anesthetic success rate of 46%. The success was statistically similar to that of buccal infiltration (42%) and would not provide adequate pulpal anesthesia as a primary injection.