Lidocaine Versus Lignocaine: A Scoping Review of Terminological Usage in Dental Local Anesthesia Literature.

Authors

Takutoshi Inoue, Tomoaki Ujita, Toru Yamamoto, Naotaka Kishimoto

Published in

Cureus. Volume 18. Issue 9. Pages e115757. Epub Sep 04, 2026.

Abstract

Although lidocaine is the internationally accepted International Nonproprietary Name (INN), the alternative term lignocaine continues to be used in English-language dental literature. However, patterns and consistency of terminology usage within individual publications have not been systematically investigated. This scoping review systematically mapped terminology usage in 526 English-language dental articles related to local anesthetics or local anesthesia techniques identified through searches of PubMed and Web of Science. Articles were classified into three groups according to terminology usage: Lidocaine (Lido), Lignocaine (Ligno), and Lidocaine+Lignocaine (Lido+Ligno). Terminology usage was compared between the Title/Abstract/Keywords (TAK) and Full Text (FT), and a proportion difference was calculated to evaluate differences across dental specialties and geographic regions. The Lido group predominated in both TAK and FT, whereas the proportion of the Lido+Ligno group increased in FT. The proportion difference was negative for the Lido and Ligno groups but positive for the Lido+Ligno group. Asia showed the largest differences between TAK and FT, with distinctive terminology patterns observed in India, whereas terminology usage remained relatively consistent in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Although lidocaine remains the predominant spelling in English-language dental literature, concurrent use of lidocaine and lignocaine within individual publications is common. These findings highlight the importance of consistent terminology in dental academic communication. The analytical framework presented in this study may also be applicable to investigations of other synonymous medical and dental terms.

PMID:
42830822
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 05 Oct 2026.

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