Comparison of Anesthetic Efficacy of Articaine and Lidocaine in Patients with Irreversible Pulpitis

Objective: to compare the anesthetic efficacy of articaine with that of lidocaine during pulpectomy in patients with irreversible pulpitis for inferior alveolar nerve block in mandibular posterior teeth. Methods: this cross sectional study consist of 192 Patients with irreversible pulpitis referred to the Department of Operative Dentistry, ISRA Dental College, Hyderabad during the period 1st September 2015 to 15 August 2017, randomly received an inferior alveolar nerve block containing 1.8 mL of either 4% articaine with 1: 100,000 epinephrine or 2% lidocaine with 1: 80,000 epinephrine. Chi-square test was performed to establish the success rate of 2 local anesthetic drugs. Data was analyzed using SPSS 21. Results: The success rate during access cavity was 73% for lidocaine and 56% for articaine, while during pulpectomy success rate with lidocaine was 56% and that of articaine was 58%. difference between the two solutions were not statistically significant. Conclusions: Articiane has been considered alternate to lidocaine as local anesthetic agent. it is equally effective as lidocaine in patient with irreversible pulpitis in posterior mandibular molars.