This is a parallel design randomized controlled trial that aims to evaluate the effectiveness of mandibular infiltration anesthesia with Articaine in comparison to IANB with Lidocaine used for restorative and pulp therapy procedures in pediatric patients.

Lidocaine (2% Lidocaine Hydrochloride with 1:100,000 Epinephrine) and Articaine (4% Articaine Hydrochloride with 1:100,000 Epinephrine) are compared and evaluated for their effectiveness of anesthetizing primary mandibular molars for restorative and pulp therapy procedures. A number of clinical and behavioral variables including blood pressure, pulse, physical movements, and pain perception are evaluated.

Participants for this study will be recruited from the pool of patients attending the Post-graduate (PG) clinic at the Pediatric Dentistry Department of the College of Dentistry (COD), University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Inclusion and exclusion criteria are specified separately for the selected patients and for the teeth involved. Informed consent from the parent/guardian and assent from the pediatric participant (7 years of age and older) will be obtained and signed. This is a prospective randomized clinical trial utilizing a random digit table for participant allocation into either the Articaine Group or the Lidocaine Group. The dosage of LA will be determined by the child's body weight and will not exceed the maximum recommended 4.4 mg/kg for Lidocaine and 7 mg/kg for Articaine. Before the injection, 20% Benzocaine topical anesthetic gel will be applied at the injection site with a cotton swab for approximately 3 minutes over dry mucosa. The randomly assigned LA, either Lidocaine IANB or Articaine infiltration, will be administered. One designated operator, an experienced specialist pediatric dentist, will conduct all LA injections to all participants. A trained and calibrated dental assistant (examiner A) will record the child's reactions during the LA administration using the Modified Behavioral Pain Scale (MBPS), adapted by Taddio et al. 1994. This scale allows for objective evaluation of pain using multiple criteria such as facial display, movement of extremities, movement of torso, and crying. A second trained and calibrated investigator (examiner B), a resident in pediatric dentistry, who is blinded to the type of LA agent used, will complete the planned dental treatment for the primary mandibular molars. Examiner B will complete MBPS (#B) evaluating the patient's reactions during the dental treatment. Generally, effective LA results in less negative and more positive patient's reactions to the dental care. In total, 15 examiners A and 17 examiners B will take part in the study. All examiners will be trained and calibrated with respect to the use of MBPS. During the entire treatment visit, each participant will wear a pulse and blood pressure monitor. The machine will produce automatic recordings every 10 minutes. Patients that experience distress and pain can exhibit increased pulse and blood pressure values outside of the considered normal range per age. At the end of the dental visit, the pediatric patient will be asked to complete a Wong-Baker FACES® Pain Response Scale (PRS) for feedback of their experience with the entire dental visit. The PRS contains six images of varying facial expression ranging from laughter to tears which are assigned at numerical value for objective evaluation. All used data will be coded and captured on specifically designed for the purposes of the study evaluation forms. The data gathered through all study forms will be transferred into Microsoft® Excel 2018 and the statistical analysis will be carried out with IBM SPSS Statistics.