To reduce dental numbness, gently stimulate blood flow with light activity (walking, chewing gum), warm compresses, or facial massage; stay hydrated; and distract yourself, but always wait until sensation returns before eating to avoid injury, and consult your dentist if it persists.
Get Active
Taking a brisk walk, going for a bike ride, or even tacking a few chores around the house will help to reduce numbness in a natural way. Being active stimulates blood flow in the body, which helps to carry the anesthesia away from the injection site.
Some common treatments for numbness include:
Light activity can boost circulation and speed up the recovery from dental numbness. Something as simple as walking around your home, gently stretching your neck, or lightly moving your jaw can stimulate blood flow and help the numbness fade more quickly.
Emergency medications such as benzodiazepines and injecting lipids into the bloodstream can help reverse a lidocaine overdose.
Neutralizing (buffering) lidocaine 1%/epinephrine 1:100,000 solution (Lido/Epi) with sodium hydrogen carbonate (NaHCO3) (also called sodium bicarbonate) is widely used to reduce burning sensations during infiltration of Lido/Epi. Optimal mixing ratios have not been systematically investigated.
The time it takes for an anesthetic to wear off varies by type. For instance, plain lidocaine typically lasts about one to two hours, while lidocaine with epinephrine (a vasoconstrictor) can extend the numbing effect to two to four hours.
Warm beverages like tea, coffee, or warm water can stimulate blood flow and help disperse the anesthetic. However, keep in mind: Avoid hot drinks if you're still numb to prevent burns. Opt for lukewarm temperatures until the feeling starts to return.
If tingling lasts more than 12 hours, call your dentist to rule out nerve irritation. If you ever face persistent numbness or pain, our Emergency Dentistry team is here to help right away.
OraVerse is the first and only local dental anesthesia reversal agent in the market proven to accelerate the reversal of anaesthetic effect (numbness) after dental procedures. To administer OraVerse, dentist will inject it into the area of the patient's mouth that has been worked on and is therefore already numb.
Healthy Ways to Cope with Emotional Numbness
The vitamins B1, B6 and B12 are essential for nerve health. These vitamins can help with the healing of nerve damage and relieve nerve damage symptoms like pamamanhid (numbness) and tusok-tusok (tingling)—this is why they are called 'neurotropic' vitamins.
The 2-2-2 rule in dentistry is a simple guideline for good oral hygiene: brush twice a day, for two minutes each time, and visit your dentist twice a year, helping to prevent cavities, gum disease, and other dental problems by establishing consistent habits for plaque removal and professional monitoring.
The specific anesthetic administered plays a significant role in how long the numbing sensation lasts. Lidocaine, one of the most common local anesthetics, often provides numbness for about one to three hours. Other anesthetics, like bupivacaine, may last longer, extending up to 8 hours for post-treatment pain relief.
If you've recently had dental work done, you might be wondering when you can eat again. In most cases, you are able to eat as soon as the numbing agent wears off. Chewing while your tongue is numb is never a good idea. The Novocain should wear off within about three hours, but can sometimes take longer.
While rare, dental anesthesia can lead to serious and even life-threatening complications. In such cases, patients may require immediate medical attention and further evaluation to determine if an error occurred during the procedure.
The inferior alveolar injection was graded to be the most painful followed by periodontal ligament and then mental nerve block injections. The periodontal ligament injections yielded the highest pressure scores.
Similarly to massage, getting your blood pumping by doing some physical activity can also help the numbness disappear faster. You can take a walk, hop on a bike, or perhaps even go for a run. Whatever your exercise of choice is, make sure you get your dentist's approval before you jump into strenuous activity.
One potential way to help alleviate numbness after a dental procedure is by consuming caffeine. Caffeine is known for its stimulating effects on the body, which can help boost blood flow and potentially reduce the duration of numbness in the mouth.
Use Hot Therapy (Heat) For
Heat therapy is effective for relieving numbness and tingling caused by muscle tightness, joint stiffness, or poor circulation. It works by relaxing muscles, improving blood flow, and increasing mobility.
Avoid any chewing until the numbness has completely worn off. It is easy to bite or burn your tongue or lip while numb. It is recommended that you take some ibuprofen (Motrin or Advil, 1-2 tablets every 4-6 hours as needed) before the anesthetic completely wears off.
The clinical symptoms after consumption of approximately two to more than 24 mg/ml of lidocaine are tongue numbness, dizziness, auditory and visual disorders, loss of consciousness, seizures, coma, and respiratory and cardiac arrest.
By applying heat, massaging the area, or engaging in light physical activity, you can encourage the faster breakdown and absorption of the numbing agent, allowing you to regain feeling sooner.
Lidocaine's volume of distribution is 0.7 to 1.5 L/kg. Elimination: The half-life of lidocaine is approximately 1.5 to 2 hours and is prolonged in patients with congestive heart failure and hepatic impairment. Approximately 90% of the drug is excreted in the urine.