This paper describes a model for investigating the efficacy of different methods of alleviating the pain of intra-oral injections. The efficacies of the topical anaesthetic EMLA cream and electronic nerve stimulation as means of reducing the discomfort of palatal injections prior to the extraction of maxillary teeth were investigated using the model in one hundred patients. EMLA reduced the pain of injection compared with placebo (P < 0.05) whereas the pain reported after electronic nerve stimulation did not differ significantly from placebo. It is concluded that EMLA is useful in reducing the pain of palatal injections.

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