Local anaesthesia using Articaine and Lidocaine in oral and dental surgery: A comparative meta-analysis

Background: Articaine is an amide local anaesthetic, which is gaining popularity for use in dental and oral surgical anaesthesia in the United Kingdom. Hitherto there has been insufficient evidence to recommend articaine above the more commonly used lidocaine for dental procedures. The aim of this study is to compare the efficacy of 4% articaine with 1:100,000 adrenaline (4AA) with that of 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 adrenaline (2LA) administered as buccal infiltrations for anaesthesia in mandibular permanent first molar teeth. Any significant advantage noted may obviate the need for regional blockage of the inferior dental nerve in dental or minor oral surgical procedure under local anaesthesia. Objectives: To review the published literature comparing the efficacies of 4AA and 2LA for achieving pulpal anaesthesia in human mandibular permanent first molar teeth. Null Hypothesis: 4AA and 2LA are of equal efficacy when used to anaesthetize mandibular permanent first molar teeth by buccal infiltration. Method: An electronic search encompassing Ovid MEDLINE®, PubMed (National Center for Biotechnology Information, US National Library of Medicine), SCOPUS®, SCIRUS®, EMBASE® databases and the Cochrane Library was performed to identify trials relating to the efficacy of 4AA and 2LA local anaesthetic solutions on mandibular first molars in adult participants. Study characteristics and outcome data were extracted as a basis for meta-analysis. Results: Three randomised controlled trials were identified for this meta-analysis. The relative efficacy of 4AA over 2LA in anesthetizing permanent first mandibular molars was calculated at 1.57 (95% CI = 1.27 to 1.95). Conclusion: Despite the promising results shown in the metaanalysis it is difficult to say from the evidence presented that 4AA should be used clinically in preference over 2LA.