The ethics of adopting a new drug: articaine as an example

The introduction of articaine as a local anesthetic agent and the number of reported cases of paresthesia are used to develop issues surrounding dentists' responsibility to investigate the evidence associated with product claims and to evaluate the use of treatments through various appropriate ethical lenses. The evidence on safety and efficacy of articaine are reviewed, followed by a discussion of various relevant ethical perspectives, including standard of care, professional codes, normative principles, weighing interests, and a hierarchy of core values. The authors recommend against the use of articaine.