Advantages and Disadvantages of Articaine Hydrochloride

Advantages
Characteristic for articaine HCl is that they are fast acting and effective in penetrating bone. The latter has not been proven scientifically but is the opinion of those who work with these products. When using articaine HCl, the patient no longer has to return to the waiting room to allow the anesthetic to take effect. During treatment, it seems as though articaine HCl are more effective than most other anesthetics. For these reasons, increasing numbers of dentists and dental surgeons are opting for articaine HCl.

Disadvantages
Articaine is dependent on cholinesterase group enzymes to metabolize correctly and in particular as ButyrylCholinesterase (BuChE). When there are insufficient levels of this enzyme or insufficiently effective enzymes in the body, articaine HCl are not broken down in the way intended and the body seeks alternative ways to rid itself of these substances. This alternative metabolic process leads to the formation toxic by-products, which can cause paralysis or brain damage. In some cases, these by-products attack the human DNA/RNA structure, which can cause the onset of cancer. The forms of cancer evoked by articaine are, in our experience, particularly aggressive and resistant to therapy. The cancer can be treated by means of chemotherapy, radiation treatment or surgery but tends to return after a while because the articaine that has accumulated in tissue, fat or brain tissue, is slowly released back into the body. If the immune system has been weakened, due to use of medicines, stress or an unhealthy lifestyle, the cancer can return as a result of the steady release of unprocessed, or partially processed, articaine in the body tissues.

The latest experiential results indicate that articaine may distort the metabolism of fatty acids. The editors will update these pages as more information about and insight into these unsuspected side effects become available.