[Various factors influencing the local anesthetic effect of articaine]

In a field study, the reduction in the anaesthetic effectiveness of Articain was investigated in relation to various influencing parameters. Both in the ZMK-Klinik (Dental Hospital) of Würzburg as well an in various independent practices, the local anaesthetic Articain was given to over 2000 patients in the course of dental treatment. With 12.1% of all test-subjects, inspite of the initial positive effectiveness upon application of the nerve-blocking anaesthetic, touch sensitivity and/or painfulness was established in the area concerned. Statistical evaluations of the recorded data of the test-subjects investigated showed a significantly higher quota of anaesthetic failure in the case of heavy cigarette consumption, chronic exposure to inhaled toxins as well as in the case of the intake of medicines of certain pharmaceutical types. Apart from that, a connection was also established between reduction in the effectiveness of the local anaesthetic and various treatments as well as the way in which the local anaesthetic was applied and the site of injection. Possible causes will be presented and discussed in relation to information from the literature on the subject.