Effect of Local Anesthesia and Extraction on Mouth Opening

Abstract

Background: Trismus is defined as painful limitation in mouth opening due to a muscle spasm. Trismus, also called lockjaw, (restricted jaw range of motion).There are various causes of trismus, one is spasm of the muscles of mastication. Assessment of the effect of local anesthesia and extraction on mouth opening ability. Methodology: Total sample of 40 patients included both genders (27 male and 13 female) participated in this study, all Patients were healthy with no allergy to local anesthesia, don’t use alcohol or any drug therapy. Lidocaine HCL 2% with epinephrine 1:80,000 is used to anesthetize the inferior alveolar nerve using IAN block technique, while surgical tools were used for extraction in the usual way. Baseline mouth opening was evaluated pre-operatively, during the effect of local anesthesia and post-operatively by using digital Vernier caliper. Results: significant difference in mouth opening between the measurements (pre-operative, during anesthesia, post-operative) is found , mouth opening decreases when measurement is directed toward postoperatively.