Local anesthetic use by dentists in Ontario

A mail survey to obtain data on the annual use of local anesthetics in dentistry was sent to each of the 6,271 certified dentists in Ontario in 1993. The survey asked dentists to identify the different types and total amounts of local anesthetics used in their practice yearly. A total of 2,426 dentists responded to the survey. Based on extrapolation of the data collected, it is estimated that more than 11,000,000 cartridges of local anesthetic are administered annually by dentists in Ontario. The distribution of use of specific types of local anesthetics and vasoconstrictors was also determined. Lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine accounted for 23.4 per cent of all cartridges used, followed by articaine with 1:200,000 epinephrine (19.9 per cent), articaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine (17.9 per cent), prilocaine with 1:200,000 epinephrine (16.4 per cent), mepivacaine with 1:20,000 levonordefrin (6.4 per cent), and mepivacaine plain (6.3 per cent). Other anesthetics were used to a lesser degree. Further analysis revealed no statistically-significant differences in the use of local anesthetics among dentists who responded to the survey and non-responders. The results of this survey document the current use of local anesthetics in dentistry.