Anesthetic medications can remain in your body for up to 24 hours. If you have been given sedation, regional, or general anesthesia, you should not return to work or drive until the medications have left your system. After local anesthesia, you should be able to resume your normal activities, as long as your healthcare provider approves. The effects of local anesthesia usually wear off gradually, and sensation slowly returns to the area a few hours after the procedure.
If you're going to the dentist for a routine filling, root canal, or other procedure, you'll likely need local anesthesia to numb the area and keep you from feeling pain during treatment. Generally, the anesthesia used by the dentist will numb the tooth for 1 to 2 hours. Additionally, the next 3 to 5 hours can leave your lips, face, and tongue numb, which can be inconvenient if you try to return to your normal activities right away after your appointment. If you would like advice on how to speed up the restoration of normal sensation after a dental procedure, or if you have any questions about prolonged numbness, contact Tompkins Dental today.
When visiting the dentist for a dental procedure, sometimes a sedative can help alleviate dental anxiety, an obstacle to oral health care for some patients. If after five hours you experience persistent numbness after a dental implant, filling, wisdom tooth extraction, or other dental procedure, contact your dentist. You may be surprised to learn that dental procedures are not usually performed under general anesthesia but can be done with something called sedation dentistry.
