Local anesthesia in dentistry

Many dental procedures are associated with pain. Therefore, if pain is foreseeable, the dentist recommends the use of a local anaesthetic in the form of an injection. In general, local anesthesia is very well tolerated and only in rare cases leads to side effects.

The frequency of occurrence of side effects in the context of a dental local anaesthesia is estimated to be about 1:1. 000. 000.

What every patient knows: After the visit to the dentist, the anesthetized region usually remains numb for some time. Therefore, caution is required when eating and drinking afterwards. The numb lip does not feel if you accidentally bite on it.

This can lead to unnoticed injuries. Accordingly, you should not eat again until the feeling in the lip has returned. Otherwise, the physical reaction to local anesthesia depends mainly on individual factors, for example the age of the patient, his or her accompanying illnesses, or his or her general physical condition and allergies.

Local side effects that may occur are pain at the injection site or inflammation caused by pathogens that have settled in the gums through the injection site. In the long run, this can develop into a painful abscess (accumulation of pus in the tissue), which often has to be surgically opened. Pain at the puncture site is common but harmless.

It goes away by itself within a short time.An infection occurs very rarely and usually affects people who suffer from a significantly weakened immune system. In the worst case, the doctor will hit a nerve directly when inserting the syringe. This is very unpleasant for the patient and manifests itself in a stabbing, shooting pain.

Subsequently, a feeling of numbness in the anesthetized area may last longer. However, these usually subside again. Only in very rare cases the numbness remains.

The syringe can also injure blood vessels running in the gums. As long as the patient does not suffer from a coagulation disorder, this is usually harmless, as the bleeding usually stops by itself after a short time. If the patient has a coagulation disorder, more severe bleeding may occur under certain circumstances.

Of course, allergic reactions to the local anesthetic may also occur. These can range from slight local reactions (redness, swelling, itching, rash) to strong systemic reactions (anaphylactic shock) with shortness of breath, dizziness and cardiac arrest. Cardiac arrhythmia may also occur.

Local anesthetics mixed with adrenaline may cause further systemic effects. Adrenaline serves as a vasoconstrictor. This can potentially cause an intoxication reaction in the circulatory system, which manifests itself as headache, palpitations, hypertension, anxiety and hyperventilation.

Ultimately, this can result in a loss of consciousness. This can especially occur when too much of the local anesthetic enters the circulation, for example, in the case of undesired intravenous application. However, this is very unlikely in the case of oral anaesthesia. Overall, the risk of side effects with dental local anesthesia is considered very low. If you have ever had an allergic reaction to local anesthesia or if you have any other known drug allergies, you should inform your dentist in advance.