Gow-Gates Mandibular Nerve Block Anesthesia: Is It an Old Forgotten Technique?

Abstract

Background:Since introduced by Gow-Gates GA in 1973, Gow-Gates mandibular nerve block (GMNB) has played an important role in the area of dental local anesthesia. However, compared to the conventional inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB), this technique seems to fail to attract the attentions of general practitioners in South Korea. The aim of this study was to prove the clinical real value, mainly the anesthetic efficacy, of GMNB in minor oral surgery.Methods: The study group comprised 40 patients (15 males and 25 females) who were randomly allocated to receive GMNB or IANB for extraction of third molars. Both techniques utilized two 1.8 ml dental cartridges of 2% lidocaine including 1：100,000 epinephrine for each patient. Pulpal and gingival tissue anesthesia of mandibular premolars and molars were recorded at 0, 15 and 40 minutes after administration of local anesthetics using both an electric pulp tester and a sharp dental explorer.Results: The success rates of pulpal and gingival tissue anesthesia in the IANB group were not significantly different from the GMNB group in overall efficacy. Patient's and operator's satisfaction ratings were also not significantly different between two groups. Interestingly, the injection pain of GMNB group was significantly lower than that of IANB group.Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the anesthetic efficacy of pulpal and gingival tissue of GMNB was not inferior to that of IANB. The GMNB could be a good alternative of the IANB in most of minor oral surgical procedures. (JKDSA 2011; 11: 16～21)

Local anesthesia for mandibular third molar extraction

“…The areas anesthetized are the mandibular teeth to the midline, buccal mucoperiosteum, mucous membranes of the insertion area, anterior 2/3 of the tongue, oral floor, lingual soft tissue, periosteum, body of the mandible, lower part of the mandibular ramus, skin of the zygomatic bone, and the posterior side of buccal and temporal areas [ 1 ]. The advantages of the Gow-Gates technique include less pain during insertion when compared to the conventional inferior alveolar nerve block [ 11 ] and anesthetization of a more extensive area with a single injection. A disadvantage of the Gow-Gates technique is the slower onset of anesthesia when compared to the conventional inferior alveolar nerve block [ 1 ].…”