Comparative study of the anaesthetic efficacy of 4% articaine versus 2% lidocaine with adrenaline during extraction of mandibular molars using an inferior alveolar nerve blocking technique.

Various anaesthetic agents have been used in dentistry for the extraction of teeth. The most commonly used local anaesthetic agent is lidocaine hydrochloride. Recently, articaine hydrochloride came into existence because of its versatile properties and longer duration of action. Due to lack of study of effects of articaine on various systems, the present study is aimed to compare the anaesthetic efficacy of articaine and lidocaine with adrenaline during the extraction of mandibular molars. A total of 100 patients was randomly divided into two groups (50 each) and clinical variables such onset and duration of anaesthesia, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, pulse rate, and pain perception were recorded at different time intervals using a visual analogue scale. The statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 22.0. Mean and standard deviations, frequency distribution analysis, and the chi squared test were performed to calculate variables and a p< 0.05 was considered significant. Statistically significant differences were obtained regarding mean time of onset of anaesthesia (p< 0.001), mean duration of the anaesthetic effect (p< 0.001), and pain perception for the articaine group. No significant results were obtained for blood pressure, oxygen saturation, or pulse rate. During the deposition of articaine, patients reported less pain than with lidocaine. Articaine hydrochloride helped to achieve increased anaesthetic success in dental applications over lidocaine hydrochloride in terms of fast time of onset, longer duration, and less pain, all of which were attributed to its greater diffusion properties.