With regard to mandibular injection nerve blocks (dental), is the risk
of paresthesia
greater for Articaine than for lidocaine?  Articaine is manufactured
by the French company Septodont.  It was approved for use in the
United States in 2000.  The FDA approved Articaine with a paresthesia
rate of 1%.  Lidocaine has been considered the gold standard for
dental anesthesia for many years.  Haas (Canada) has indicated in a
retropective report that Articaine has much higher rates of
paresthesia than lidocaine.  James Dower (US) has also written in
support of these findings.  Septodont dismisses these findings as
anecdotal.