Numbness after tooth anesthesia does not go away, common complications with local anesthesia in dentistry

Dental treatment is a serious challenge. There are risks of developing unpleasant consequences after improper fillings or deleting, there is a chance of getting complications after anesthesia. Local blockade of pain impulses is used in the treatment. In dentistry, anesthesia is used to treat periodontitis, pulpitis, during prosthetics and implantation, when removing teeth, during tissue augmentation or incisions. If numbness after tooth anesthesia does not go away within the prescribed time, you need to look for causes and methods of elimination.

How long does anesthesia take

Dentists use special types of anesthesia:

• by using applications (in this case, the anesthetic is applied to the area treated with antiseptic substances in the form of a gel, ointment, solution);
• at the expense of conductor, that is, by injection (carried out with a long-term type of dental intervention, Novocaine is used);
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• infiltrative (three-stage type, shown for complex manipulations).

After an operation to remove or treat, depending on the type of anesthesia, a feeling of numbness remains. If this is not associated with disturbances in the conduct of anesthesia, then the numbness disappears after a certain period of time.

Experts have set the maximum threshold for each type of anesthesia and recommend that you closely monitor how much time has passed since the dental procedure was performed:

• numbness after application anesthesia can last up to 30 minutes;
• after the conduction - up to 5-6 hours;
• after infiltration - up to 3-4 hours.

The characteristics of the patient should be taken into account, such as: age, weight, general health.

Complications after local anesthesia

The human factor plays an important role in dental procedures. Often the inexperience or carelessness of a specialist leads to serious consequences.

Common complications that arise with local anesthesia in dentistry can be of a different nature:

1. Discomfort at the injection site. This is due to fast or too slow administration of the drug.
2. Hematoma at the injection site. The emergence and growth of a hematoma indicates problems with blood vessels or the wrong choice of the place of needle insertion.
3. Allergic reactions. Despite the fact that reactions to drugs are determined before anesthesia, cases of severe allergies to the composition of anesthesia are not uncommon, especially if it consists of two or more components.
4. Inflammation of the gums, the development of infection. This case suggests that several mistakes were made during the procedure, as a result of which bacteria got into unprotected tissues and caused inflammation.
5. Numbness of the facial muscles. The symptom is often complicated until paresis occurs, lack of control over facial expressions, inability to close lips, sagging areas of the face.

Numbness after dental anesthesia: symptoms, causes

The problem with diagnosing complications of anesthesia is that jaw numbness is a natural condition after anesthesia. If concomitant symptoms are added to it, then it is necessary to consult a doctor. Associated symptoms:

• numbness of the tongue, burning and tingling;
• numbness of the cheek;
• sagging of the face area;
• tooth pain;
• pulsation in the gums;
• profuse salivation.

There are only three factors affecting the symptom:

• getting a needle when an anesthetic is injected into a blood vessel;
• nerve damage;
• exposure to the anesthetic due to its increased toxicity.

The needle enters the vessel and may break off. The nerve is damaged when the instruments are applied. The toxicity of the anesthetic is increased with minimal errors by the anesthesiologist.

Some people experience prolonged numbness of the tongue and lips after wisdom tooth extraction. This procedure is complicated due to the inconvenient location of the third molar in the mouth. When carrying out manipulations, there is always a risk of damage to the mandibular nerve, which is close to the root. Wisdom teeth often have slopes, as they appear later than everyone else, they do not have enough room for proper growth. In this position, it can be extremely difficult to capture it with tools. Paresthesia after wisdom tooth extraction will spread to the tongue or part of it, lips and gum areas above the problem area are at risk.

It is also important to remember about possible damage to the facial nerve, in the trunk of which there are sensory and secretory fibers, they are responsible for facial expressions, motor activity. If one of the fibers is damaged, numbness occurs in the lower part of the face.

Numbness may be due to the fact that a nerve was touched during the operation. Nerve damage during dental extraction is common. This is due to the location of the tooth, with deep internal growth, bone sawing and the use of forceps are required. When placing the instrument, the dentist closes the field of view and acts almost intuitively. In this case, nerve damage occurs, especially when the wisdom teeth are removed, which are located close to the nerves.

Treatment

Numbness after anesthesia goes away on its own, if no damage or disturbance has occurred. In case of complications after surgery, the help of a specialist is needed if:

• numbness after treatment, removal does not go away after a day;
• when removing a wisdom tooth - after 1-5 days.

The nerve is completely restored after 2-3 weeks. Concomitant symptoms should be considered. Shooting pain in the tooth, burning in the gums, sagging tissues indicate violations that have occurred as a result of the operation. Nausea or vomiting is a sign of body poisoning. In difficult cases, treatment is required.

Complications after the use of anesthesia are quite common. If the damage is not too complex, and the doctor's recommendations are fully followed, then the operation can be avoided.

Medication

To restore the affected nerves and normalize blood circulation, dentists prescribe:

• vitamin complexes containing vitamins B and C;
• Actovegin, Piracetam and other medicines.

Folk remedies

Rinsing is used at home. oak bark, a decoction of chamomile to relieve inflammation. Valerian root is used in an infusion, as it has a sedative effect and relaxes the muscles. Well proven solution Furacilina, it is used for rinsing.

Do not recommend using heating or cooling yourself. Despite the feeling of relief in the first minutes, such procedures can be harmful.

Physiotherapy

Dentists resort to the appointment of ultrasound therapy to warm the designated areas. This promotes tissue repair.

Prophylaxis

Before you go to the dentist for the treatment or extraction of teeth, you should follow a few simple rules that will help you to endure the intervention without further complications:

• do not drink alcoholic beverages (at least 2 weeks before anesthesia);
• monitor blood sugar and blood pressure readings;
• limit the amount of fluid you drink.

As a rule, the numbness after anesthesia goes away within the prescribed time. Complications occur in conjunction with other symptoms that are hard to miss.