The local pharmacokinetics of ³H-ropivacaine and ¹⁴C-lidocaine after maxillary infiltration anesthesia in rats.

The effects of infiltration anesthesia with ropivacaine on the dental pulp are considered to be weak. This may be partly associated with its permeation into the oral tissue. With the objective of investigating the local pharmacokinetics of ropivacaine and lidocaine following infiltration anesthesia, we injected (3)H-ropivacaine or (14)C-lidocaine to the palatal mucosa in rats, measured distributions of radioactivity in the maxilla, and compared the local pharmacokinetics of these agents. The animals were sacrificed at various times and the maxillas were removed. The palatal mucosa and maxillary nerve were resected, and the bone was divided into 6 portions. We measured radioactivity in each tissue and calculated the level of each local anesthetic (n  =  8). Lidocaine diffused to the surrounding tissue immediately after the injection, whereas ropivacaine tended to remain in the palatal mucosa for a longer period. Lidocaine showed a higher affinity for the maxillary bone than ropivacaine. There was a correlation between the distribution level of local anesthetics in the maxillary bone and that in the maxillary nerve. The lower-level effects of infiltration anesthesia with ropivacaine on the dental pulp may be because ropivacaine has a high affinity for soft tissue, and its transfer to bone is slight.