Evaluation of the success of modified Vazirani-Akinosi technique in comparison to the standard Vazirani-Akinosi technique - a randomized clinical trial

Introduction/Objective. The correct choice of local anesthesia should consider the simplest technique to perform, with maximum anesthesia and minimal discomfort for the patient. The objectives of this research were to determine the efficacy of the modified in comparison to the standard Vazirani-Akinosi technique and to compare techniques regarding clinically relevant parameters. Methods. The research was conducted at the Clinic for Oral Surgery, School of Dental Medicine, University of Belgrade. A prospective, randomized, single-blinded clinical trial included sixty patients scheduled for surgical extraction of mandibular third molars. The first group of patients was anesthetized using mVAt, while the second group received anesthesia using VAt. Pain during injection, onset time, duration of anesthesia, and width of the anesthetized area were evaluated parameters. Results. Out of 60 performed injections, 42 were successful, which proved to be statistically significant in comparison to 18 unsuccessful injections (p = 0.047). The failure rate of BN anesthesia was statistically significantly lower in mVAt group (p = 0.030). There was no statistically significant difference among groups considering pain (p = 0.114), onset time (p = 0.370) and duration of anesthesia (p = 0.628). Conclusion. Modified VA technique proved to be more successful regarding BN anesthesia. Considering other examined clinical parameters, both techniques showed similar performance.