Knowledge and Awareness of Articaine Use among Dental Students - A Survey
Debarun David
Saveetha Dental College, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai, India.
Dhanraj Ganapathy *
Department of Prosthodontics, Saveetha Dental College, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Articaine is an intermediate-potency, short-acting amide local anesthetic with a fast metabolism due to an ester group in its structure. It is effective with local infiltration or peripheral nerve block in dentistry, when administered as a spinal, epidural, ocular, or regional nerve block, or when injected intravenously for regional anesthesia. In comparative trials, its clinical effects were not generally significantly different from those of other short-acting local anesthetics like lidocaine, prilocaine, and chloroprocaine. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and awareness of Articaine use among dental students. A cross-sectional study was done to assess the knowledge and awareness of articaine use among dental students. The sample size of the study was about 100 participants and the survey instrument was a self-administered questionnaire administered online. The responses were collected and statistically analyzed. 59% of the students were aware of articaine use in dentistry. The study concluded that there is a moderate level of awareness about articaine use among dental students.
Keywords: Articaine, regional anesthesia, pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, therapeutic use, tolerability, neurotoxicity