Miloš Tijanić

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF LOCAL ANESTHETICS
USED IN STOMATOLOGY

Local anesthetics are medicines most used in stomatology. Contemporary stomatology cannot be imagined without the application of local anesthetics whose improvement is being continued. The first local anesthetic used in stomatology in 1884 was cocaine. Lidocaine, a local anesthetic used most in stomatology, was synthesized in 1943, whereas bupivacaine, a long-effect anesthetic underwent the same treatment in 1957. The last local anesthetic introduced into clinical praxis was ropivacaine. This paper renders the historical account of the discovery and development of local anesthetics starting from cocaine up to the contemporary local anesthetic with a long-lasting effect.

Key words: local anesthetics, historical development, cocaine, lidocaine, bupivacaine, ropivacaine