JBR Journal of Interdisciplinary Medicine and Dental Sciences

Dental Anesthesia Open Access Articles

   Dental anesthesia (or dental anaesthesia) is a field of anesthesia that includes local anesthetics, sedation, and general anesthesia. In dentistry, the most commonly used local anesthetic is lidocaine (also called xylocaine or lignocaine), a modern replacement for procaine (also known as novocaine). Its half-life in the body is about 1.5–2 hours. Other local anesthetic agents in current use include articaine (also called septocaine or ubistesin), bupivacaine (a long-acting anesthetic), Prilocaine (also called Citanest), and mepivacaine (also called Carbocaine or Polocaine). Different types of local anaesthetic drugs vary in their potency and duration of action. A combination of these may be used depending on the situation. Most agents come in two forms: with and without epinephrine (adrenaline) or other vasoconstrictor that allow the agent to last longer. This controls bleeding in the tissue during procedures. Usually the case is classified using the ASA Physical Status Classification System before any anesthesia is given . Drugs with a short duration of action (approximately 30 minutes of pulpal anaesthesia) include Mepivacaine HCl 3%, and Prilocaine HCl 4% without vasoconstrictor Multiple factors affect the depth and duration of local anaesthetics' action. Examples of these factors include the patients individual response to the drug, vascularity and pH of tissues at the site of drug administration, the type of injection administered etc[1]. Hence figures citing the duration of action of local anaesthetics is an approximation, as extreme variations may occur among patients.  

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