A new method of blood sampling and determination of the local anesthetic agent lidocaine in dentistry.

Blood levels of local anesthetic agents after application in dentistry have been determined only in peripheral venous blood. A method of withdrawing blood from the alveolus after extraction of a tooth was developed. With a new simple gas chromatographic method with a low detection limit, concentration of lidocaine was determined. A correlation between the blood levels of lidocaine and the type of anesthesia and the localization of the extracted teeth was found.