How to Get Rid of Numbness After Dentist?

Most dental procedures are painful and uncomfortable. This is why dentists administer local anesthesia for dental sedation to numb the area and prevent you from experiencing pain during the treatment or oral surgery.

Some people choose not to go to the dentist to avoid having to cope with persistent numbness. Luckily, there are methods for reducing the numbness and corresponding discomfort more quickly.

How Long Does Dentist Numbing Last?

One may wonder what dentists use to numb and for how long does oral anesthesia last. To answer the former, the effect of anesthesia generally results in mouth numbness for 1 to 2 hours. Your face, tongue, and lips may continue to be insensitive for 3–4 hours. However, after having a dental implant, wisdom teeth removed, root canal therapy, or a filling, if you continue to feel numbness even after 5 hours, contact your dentist right once.

For the latter, Lidocaine and Novocaine are two of the most popular anesthetics dentists employ to help prevent patients from feeling pain during operations. These numbing medications’ effects can last up to 24 hours before they entirely wear off. That could seem like a long time to some people.

Ways to Get Rid of Numbness Around Mouth

As stated above, after a dental procedure, the numbness around the mouth should often start to subside in three to five hours. But if, after a few hours or so, the patient is still experiencing numbness in their mouth and it hasn’t subsided, there are several ways to get rid of it more quickly, which we will discuss below.

Patients should ensure they are well hydrated by drinking lots of water before and after treatment at the dentist’s office to get rid of the anesthetic-induced jaw numbness more quickly. Increasing fluid intake lowers blood sugar levels. Doing this reduces insulin resistance in those who have received anesthetics, allowing them to digest medications like lidocaine more quickly.

Before receiving an injection of a numbing agent, those getting dental work done should try eating meals high in magnesium as it will increase blood flow throughout their bodies, including through any tissues impacted by the medicine.

Here are a few other ways to treat dental numbness:

Massage the Jaw

After receiving anesthesia, massaging the area around the jaw can aid in improving circulation. A patient should apply a warm compress before rubbing their jaw to ease dental work-related numbness. While a massage boosts blood flow directly to your mouth, lips, and face to stimulate circulation, a warm compress helps increase circulation in the affected region.

Before handling anything close to the mouth, a person should always wash their hands. Making sure their hands are clean is especially important if the patient has open wounds from the dental surgery or if the tooth feels tingly.

Boost Your Activity

As per the American Heart Association, physical activity is essential for overall health and well-being. More research has revealed that more body activity helps speed up the healing process and enhance circulation. Additionally, it may speed up a patient’s metabolism, which may help the body process anesthetics more quickly.

Before beginning any physical activity following a dental operation, patients should consult their dentist. If the dentists approve, patients can increase their level of activity to enhance blood flow.

Be Patient

It is challenging to predict with confidence how long your mouth will be numb after surgery. Different dental treatments call for different dosages of numbing medicine, and various factors will affect how long the mouth numbness lasts. Different people will have varying degrees of sensitivity depending on their metabolism, weight, age, etc.

By asking the dentist how long they anticipate the numbness in their mouth to remain, patients can prevent any potential discomfort following dental surgery. Patients will feel more at ease regarding how long it takes for the effects of the tooth-numbing cream to wear off once they are aware of this.

Go to Bed or Take a Nap

After a dental procedure, if the numbness persists, sometimes taking a nap will help the patient forget about it and go on. This will allow the numbness around the mouth to subside.

Request a Second Injection

Certain medications used by dentists may reverse the effects of local anesthetic Even though it will require another injection, a second reversal injection can help the deadness wear off twice as quickly as if you just waited it out.

Wrap Up

Although lip numbness following oral surgery can last for two to three hours due to a local anesthetic, persistent mouth numbness could signify complications. Contact your dentist if you’re still feeling numb five hours after a dental implant, filling, wisdom tooth extraction, or other dental procedure. A follow-up appointment can be required because persistent numbness following an oral operation could be a sign of nerve injury or an abscess.