Darren Gardner DDS, Provo Dentist
I had a friend call me last night because his friend's wife had seen another dentist that morning for some work, but was concerned that she was still numb that evening. He wanted to know if she should be concerned.
I told him about a seminar that I went to in a large room of about 400 dentists. The question was asked to the dentists "How many of you have had a patient that experienced numbness from anesthetic that lasted longer than it should have?" About two-thirds of the dentists raised their hands. The next question was, "How many of you had patients that the numbness didn't go away?" I didn't see any hands raised. This is typical of what I have experienced and what the oral surgeons I refer to have experienced. It is also consistent with what I have read in studies of prolonged numbness, or paresthesia. While numbness may be permanent in rare instances, almost all of the cases related to anesthetic (not surgery), get better.
If this happens to you, here are a few things you should know:
- Parasthesia related to anesthetic occurs when the needle damages the nerve.
- Dentists do not know the exact location where the nerve branch is that we want to place the anesthetic around in each patient. It is different for everyone. We rely on anatomical landmarks that give us an approximation of where to place the anesthetic. Occasionally the needle contacts the nerve without our knowing it. Most of the time, there is no damage even when the needle contacts the nerve.
- Parasthesia can happen in the hands of even the most skilled dentists. It is not a common occurance, but most dentists have seen it happen to at least one of their patients.
- Numbness may persist for several hours, several days, or several months.
- Contact your dentist so he can evaluate the numbness and make sure that it is getting better.
- A certain anesthetic called Septocaine has been shown to cause a slightly higher frequency of parasthesia of the lower jaw. I avoid using this on the lower jaw, while I know several dentists who have used it on the lower jaw routinely without incident.
- Be assured that most likely the numbness will go away! It is very rare that it does not.