Hello, everyone. My name is Tom Viola. I am the founder and CEO of Pharmacology Declassified and this is another dentalcare.com continuing education course entitled Local Anesthetic Agents in Dentistry.
Cocaine was the first recognized local anesthetic agent. Its addictive properties and toxicity, psychological and physical dependence, mood alteration, central nervous system and cardiac excitation, and intense facial constriction, preclude its clinical use. Procaine, a cocaine analog, has short duration of action, but high allogenicity and is no longer available in dental cartridges. Today, local anesthetics that are available in dental cartridges include lidocaine, ropivacaine, prilocaine, articaine, and bupivacaine.
