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Has anyone else had a bad reaction to local anesthetic used by a dentist? I went in last Saturday for some routine work and asked for local anesthetic, after the third shot I very suddenly felt like I'd been hit in the head, the room started swimming and I had extreme double vision and a suffocated feeling. It lasted about 15 minutes and I continued to feel off for the rest of the day. I still have pain on either side of my jaw from the injection sites.
It was so terrifying I think I'd rather endure the pain than go through this again.
The dr said this is a rare reaction and that my blood vessels were constricting.
The hygienist looked terrified through the whole ordeal, I think she was waiting for me to drop dead before her eyes, which did not assuage my fears while going through this!
I know this is not funny but had to laugh thinking about an experience I had with a CRAZY dentist. I was having a tooth pulled and the novocaine was not working, every time the dentist pulled I winced in pain, the assistant had to HOLD ME DOWN. I just about ripped the arm off the chair and I was shaking so bad when he pulled it out. The only thing the masochist said was " next time you will think about being put to sleep."
I have not liked Dentists since that trip to hell.
I have a standing "NO EPI" order on my dental chart. I'm prone to panic attacks and the epinephrene will put me over the edge every time. I've never had a problem with "no epi" novocaine on upper or lower jaw. It works equally as well. The reason the novocaine lasts longer in the lower jaw is that the dentist has to hit a major nerve that feeds the entire side of your face in order to numb the tooth. On the upper jaw, he/she can isolate the tooth--almost. That's why I end up with numb earlobes when I have my lower teeth worked on.
I had a similar thing occur years ago - only once. The doctor said it was an "adrenaline reaction" which makes sense, because epi is a stimulant of a sort. My heart pounded, I got a kind of tunnel vision, and began to look glazed (like i would faint) and my hearing got muffled like everyone was very far away. Fortunately, the Dr. noticed it immediately (it happened while he was waiting for me to "numb up") - he offered me some water and sat me back up and told me to slowly sip the water. Within 10 minutes I was fine, he gave me a second type of injection (no epi) and the procedure (filling) went fine. Have never had a problem since that one -- though I've been to multiple dentists and probably had epi injections since that one. Weird how the body reacts sometimes.
Islandmommy, I've experienced what you have, a couple of times .. and also my sister from a certain dentist, years ago.
Before I felt anything, I saw a very concerned look come across the dentist's face and he immediately asked if I was ok, to which I responded .. I was. Even so, he quickly lowerd the chair until my head was almost on the floor and my feet in the air, still very concerned. Guess I lost all colour.
Then all of a sudden! .. everything was inside out, upside down, can't explain it except I was sure I was dying .. and yes, everything was like being deep inside a turbulent tunnel and out of control.
He injected into the bloodstream instead of the tissue! .. a big no no!
I reluctantly returned a second time, and when it happened again, .. never again!
In all my years, had never experienced that before. Thirty years ago, worked a few years as a dental assistant, with various dentist along the way, and never did I ever see it happen with any of them.
It isn't normal. Find someone else, is my advice.
Last edited by stone-ground; 10-30-2008 at 03:42 PM..
Do you mean permanent paresthesia? Also, why is it that the novacaine doesn't last as long on the upper teeth?
A few weeks ago I had a dental procedure on one molar tooth (amalgam filling removal; drilling out old decay and putting in a temporary filling). The dentist used 6 shots of the novocaine on me, because I was not getting numb. I also reacted badly to the epinipherine, though I have had lots of local shots in the past and never had a reaction. When I got my wisdom teeth out a few years ago they gave me probably 8 shots and I had no problem. But I think maybe I have problems now with it because I now have PVCs (irregular heart rhythm). My reaction consisted of my heart beating really fast but then it was also skipping beats, as it does normally, but not every other beat, which is what it did after I got the novacaine. Fortunately, these effects didn't last that long. But it sure was scary.
Sorry, didn't see your question until now. With any anesthetic administration, there's always a risk of paresthesia. It's extremely low. I can't tell you what it is off the top of my head though, but it's definitely less frequent than 1 in 100,000. When paresthesia occurs, it is usually temporary, coming back sometime within 6 months. Rarely it is permanent. You could also have altered sensations or hyper-sensation as well. Again, extremely rare stuff.
As was said earlier, epinephrine is produced by your own body, so you can't be allergic to it. You feel the effects of epinephrine if it is injected into the bloodstream, where it makes its way to your heart. Someone wrote that it should never happen. That's not true. Dentists should be careful, but to say it's completely avoidable is false. Whenever a needle is inserted, it should always be aspirated to check for blood. If it's negative, then the dentist will go ahead and push the anesthetic in. However, it's possible to get a false negative and inject it into a blood vessel.
What happens if you get epi into a blood vessel? Other than the reactions people have described, usually nothing of consequence. There have been studies where 10 times the epinephrine was injected directly into the blood stream. Most people felt the same reaction, but no one had any problems.
The bottom line is that epinephrine usage is safe in healthy persons, and fairly safe even in those with heart problems. The amount used in dentistry is very safe. The ideal is always to avoid injecting epinephrine in the bloodstream, but that's not always possible.
Anesthetic can last a short time to a long time, depending on which anesthetic is given and how it is administered. For those that are recommending Carbocaine and any non-epinephrine containing anesthetics, be aware that these have the shortest anesthesia times when injected near the tooth. They numb the tooth for approximately 15 minutes on the upper teeth. If you add epinephrine, it constricts the blood vessels so that the anesthetic stays put longer. In contrast, bupivacaine with epinephrine will keep your teeth numb for 90-120 minutes. If the dentist injects the anesthetic near the nerve (called a nerve block), the effects last much longer. If the dentist injects the anesthetic near the tooth it's called "infiltration" and usually doesn't last as long. The lower jaw bone is so dense that typically a nerve block is the only thing possible. Hence anesthesia typically lasts ~60 minutes. You can also get a nerve block on the upper teeth, but it's less common since injection near the tooth is much simpler to administer and works just as well.
Has anyone else had a bad reaction to local anesthetic used by a dentist? I went in last Saturday for some routine work and asked for local anesthetic, after the third shot I very suddenly felt like I'd been hit in the head, the room started swimming and I had extreme double vision and a suffocated feeling. It lasted about 15 minutes and I continued to feel off for the rest of the day. I still have pain on either side of my jaw from the injection sites.
It was so terrifying I think I'd rather endure the pain than go through this again.
The hygienist looked terrified through the whole ordeal, I think she was waiting for me to drop dead before her eyes, which did not assuage my fears while going through this!
Welcome to my world hun.. I had that done and almost died.. Found out I had a hole in my heart and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia....
The dr said this is a rare reaction and that my blood vessels were constricting
I would like to know if anyone has had multiple injections in short period of time and how it affected them. I went to Mexico and had my teeth worked on. I had a good recommendation and the dentist was great. Because of the expense of travel etc., we did a lot in 2 1/2 days. I had 6 root canals done in one afternoon requiring about 25 (non-EPI) novicaine injections. The next afternoon I had another 25 while the dentist prepared the teeth for having 8 new crowns put in. It was pretty horrible. I am not a masocist and a fairly tough guy able to deal with pain pretty well and had never had problems going to the dentist or getting shots. A few days after getting home I had a full blown panic attack. I think that's what I had, it was sometime that I had never experienced before. I was triggered because of a really painful family problem that came up. A few days later I went to have a nasty skin cancer removed from my ear. I had it worked on in January but it came back. I had no problem getting multiple lidocaine injections at that time. This time with the same MD, same procedure, I freaked out and could barely deal with the pain of the injections, they nearly had to hold me down to keep me from moving. I had a few other procedures last week involving needles. Same thing. I seem to have overnight lost all tolerance for pain from injections. Anyone heard of this ?
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You must also consider the possibility of an allergy to the anesthetic itself - though the
greatest majority of these 'reactions' described here (preexisting cardiac conditions
excepted!) appear to be more truly within the spectrum of 'side effect.'
It is not unusual for the small injection of epinephrine to "trigger" a sympathetic reaction
[literally]. Especially given the particular situation: At the dentist, facing a needle and
then perhaps a drill - or even worse..."You're not NERVOUS at all, ARE YOU?" he suddenly
asks...
If you do the math, the actual dose of epi. you might expect at the dentist is quite small
as compared to a typical therapeutic or 'rescue dose' given for life-threatening allergic
reaction:
That would be 3mg epi. in a standard concentration: 1:1,000 = 0.1% concentration x 0.3ml
(needed volume) = 3mg (required dose)
Compare to epi from the dentist:
Bottle is labeled
"Lidocaine with epinephrine 1:100,000 parts. 0.01% solution."
...which makes the epi actually 1 part in 10 million.
1 dental cartridge = 1ml; given typical dose 3ml = 10X volume BUT 1/1000 the concentration
-- it still gives only 1/100th of a dose -- or 1% of a dose, or 0.03mg compared to 3mg.
Even so, how remarkable that some people are able to 'key in' on that small sensation; that
'jump' in arousal that was keyed by the pain, the anxiety, the needle, the situation -
whatever. When that happens it can potentially trigger a familiar upwards spiral of ever-
increasing arousal...
Frequently this is a kind of mini-panic attack - or even a full-blown one.
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Multiple novicaine shots
