Lignospan – O is a Lidocaine/lignocaine topical anaesthetic ointment.
- Lidocaine/Lignocaine 5%
- Topical anaesthetic
- Raspberry Flavour
Pros:
- Superficial loss of pain sensation.
- Reduces or eliminates injection/needle anxiety.
- Easy to apply.
Cons:
- Fails to achieve depth and prolonged duration of anaesthesia.
- It contraindicated in patients with known hypersensitivity to Lidocaine/lignocaine.
Best used in:
- A topical anesthetic during extraction of deciduous teeth with resorped roots.
- As topical anaesthetic, before use of infiltration or nerve block injection anaesthesia to reduce injection anxiety.
- Can be used in cases of denture sore spots.
- In cases of apthous ulcers.
How to use Lignospan – O ?
Topical intra-oral application:
- Isolate the area with cotton rolls or pads. This prevents dilution of the ointment, permits maximum penetration, and minimizes possibility of swallowing of topical ointment.
- The ointment can be applied using a cotton bud.
- Dosage :
- In adult – Not more than 5g for a 70kg adult.
- In children – Not more than 4.5mg/kg body weight. Application of ointment should be kept to minimum and well controlled, as kids tend to swallow repeatedly, sometimes against dentist advice. Saliva ejectors should be continuously used to remove the saliva.
- Onset of action – 3 to 5 minutes
- Duration of action – 60 minutes
- No food should be ingested for 60 minutes, as anaesthesia impairs swallowing and can cause aspiration.
- Special attention should be given to children to prevent them from biting their own tongue and cheek, as these areas would have been anesthetized.
My Review of Lignospan – O
Lignospan – O (Septodent), is a 5% lignocaine ointment.
I prefer to use gel/ointment based topical anaesthetic to spray based ones. I can control the area of application as opposed to a spray based anaesthetic. This is specially useful in case of palatal anesthesia in posterior region, where use of spray will result in patient swallowing the anaesthesia and further discomfort.
You can take a small amount of anaesthetic ointment on a cotton bud (like a ear bud), and apply it over dried mucosa. Prevent saliva from diluting the ointment by using a saliva ejector or cotton rolls/pads.
Wait for 3-5 minutes before the procedure or use of injection for infiltration or nerve block.
Lignospan – O is more like jelly in consistency. It has a long shelf life of 2 years. As with every topical gel/ointment, it may show phase separation (runny) at times. Be careful, as a runny gel can easily mix with saliva. Another thing to remember is not to freeze it in a refrigerator.
As the primary component of Lignospan O is Lignocaine, the onset of action is delayed and you will need to wait for 3-5 minutes before proceeding. If you are in a hurry try Benzocaine topical anaethetic which has faster onset of action.
Sprays are cheaper compared to gels but I find gels easier to work with and has greater efficacy.
