A tool to support the clinical decisions of doctors and health professionals, not for self-diagnosis or self-treatment.
This calculator is inside the patient's file in Clinicato: open it from "Medical tools" while you chart the visit, it fills in from the patient's details and vital signs where they are recorded, and adds its result to the visit's plan in one tap, with the "Medical tools" add-on. Try it in your clinic
Calculator
The result shows once you confirm, and a dose is always to be checked against the product label or your drug reference before use.
How it works and when to use it
The calculator multiplies weight by the maximum dose per kilogram of the chosen anaesthetic, caps it at the absolute maximum, for adults by Malamed and for children by the AAPD, then divides by the drug in one cartridge (strength × volume).
With epinephrine it also limits the count by the epinephrine: 0.2 mg for a healthy adult and 0.04 mg for a cardiac patient per appointment, and rounds down to the nearest half cartridge.
Reference: Malamed SF. Handbook of Local Anesthesia, 7th ed. (2020): adult maximum doses, epinephrine 0.2 mg healthy / 0.04 mg cardiovascular disease; AAPD Best Practices: Use of Local Anesthesia for Pediatric Dental Patients (children)
Frequently asked questions
What if I use more than one anaesthetic?
The doses add up, and the total stays under the lowest maximum of the drugs used.
Why fewer cartridges for cardiac patients?
Their epinephrine limit is much lower, so the epinephrine, not the anaesthetic, sets the number of cartridges.
Can articaine be used in children?
The AAPD does not recommend it under 4 years of age, and the calculator says so.
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Clinic software for this specialty
Try Clinicato for your clinic
These calculators are free here for everyone, and in Clinicato 49 medical tools work inside the patient's file with the "Medical tools" add-on: filled from the visit and the vital signs, with the result added to the visit's plan, next to appointments, prescriptions and invoices.