A split-mouth randomized controlled clinical trial was carried to determine the efficacy of gel patch form of benzocaine anesthetic vs. oral benzocaine gel applied prior to palatal injection in children (age 6 and 8 years old) in minimizing the pain linked with the injection procedure.

Subjects were randomly assigned to receive either local injections utilizing TopicaleTM gel patch as a topical anesthetic (intervention, n=32) or local injections utilizing 20% benzocaine gel as a topical anesthetic (control, n=32). Utilizing Sound Eye Motor (SEM) Face and Pain Scale-Revised (FPS-R) scales, the outcome was measured.

Substantial differences were noted between the two benzocaine forms in minimizing pain. Both FPS-R and SEM scales gave lower scores when benzocaine gel patch was applied, as shown in the following table:

Thus, benzocaine gel patch has superior pain-relieving efficacy compared to the oral benzocaine gel applied before palatal injection in pediatric dental patients.