Abstract: PURPOSE: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of nitrous oxide/ oxygen inhalation sedation in the treatment of acute pulpitis. METHODS: The study population comprised 72 patients of acute pulpitis treated from September 2012 to March 2013. They were randomly divided into 2 groups, which included experimental group (37 cases) and control group (35 cases). Venham clinical anxiety, cooperative behavior level and WHO clinical pain level evaluation were conducted for the patients. Wilcoxon and Chi-square test were used respectively for statistical analysis with SPSS 14.0 software package. RESULTS: In the experimental group, 86.5% cases behaved comfortable, while in the control group the rate was only 42.9%. 94.6% of the patients in the experimental group felt painless after therapy. The proportion of that in the control group was 68.6%. There was significant difference between the 2 groups (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The technique of nitrous oxide/oxygen inhalation sedation provides a safe and effective way to release pain and anxiety during treatment of acute pulpitis, while the long-term clinical result still needs further investigation.

Key words: Nitrous oxide/ oxygen inhalation sedation, Acute pulpitis, Dental anxiety