The downside of being numb a kid's view...

Local anesthesia was one of the best advances in Dentistry.  It allows one to have their teeth worked on without pain.  For those of us that have been numb before, we realize it’s just one of those normal things we go through when we get a filling done.  We are aware that our lips aren’t REALLY that big and we take care to NOT bite our cheek.

For young children, however, getting numb for the first time – and even subsequent times can be weird and an issue for them.  If they have never experienced that “fat lip” feeling before, it may be upsetting. Sometimes kids will chew their cheek, lip, and even scratch at their face where it feels numb to them (see picture above).  The outcome is a swollen lip, cheek, etc. that eventually looks akin to hamburger meat.  We usually get a call from the parent the next day after they have been to the ED and someone there has told them that their child is having “an allergic reaction to the dental work/shot” -unnecessarily scaring the parents.

Hence my reason for writing this info today.  My team gives every child that has received local anesthesia a cotton roll (tooth pillow) to bite down on before leaving.  It serves as a reminder for the child to NOT bite the cheek.  We always want a parent/guardian with the child so we can go over post operative instructions about being numb and give anticipatory guidance about what to look for/what can happen if the child chews.  Some children are just going to chew so we really want the parents to watch those children closely.

If we do get a call from a parent where the child has chewed akin to the above picture- I usually want to to see the child and then give appropriate instructions on how best to keep the area clean so it can heal and what can be done for palliative treatment.