“How long does the numbness last after tooth extraction?”
I am a 32 year old male. I will have 3 teeth extracted. How long does the numbness last after tooth extraction?
2 Answers
Hello,
Sorry to hear about the loss of your teeth. During the extraction of your 3 three the doctor will give you some local anesthesia which is what causes the numbness. The amount of time the numbness lasts depends on what local anesthesia the doctor decides to give to you, when it is administered, and your individual metabolism. There are several different local anesthesia and they all tend to vary in the amount of time they last. Also, some of them come with epinephrine in them which will make it last a little longer. Keeping this in mind one of the more common local anesthesia is lidocaine with epinephrine. This one usually lasts for about 1.5 to 2 hours from the last time the doctor gives it.If the doctor has to stop and give more half way through the extractions than that will add on to the 1.5 to 2 hours. However, this is for the average person. Some people will have a metabolism that speeds this up. I have seen some people metabolize and lose the effect of this local anesthesia in as little as 20 minutes! For this person it is a good news bad news situation. This would mean the patient would need more local anesthesia every 20 minutes (3 times if the procedure is an hour), but it also means that person will not be numb as long after the procedure.
Hope this helps.
My best to you!
William F. Scott IV, DMD
Sorry to hear about the loss of your teeth. During the extraction of your 3 three the doctor will give you some local anesthesia which is what causes the numbness. The amount of time the numbness lasts depends on what local anesthesia the doctor decides to give to you, when it is administered, and your individual metabolism. There are several different local anesthesia and they all tend to vary in the amount of time they last. Also, some of them come with epinephrine in them which will make it last a little longer. Keeping this in mind one of the more common local anesthesia is lidocaine with epinephrine. This one usually lasts for about 1.5 to 2 hours from the last time the doctor gives it.If the doctor has to stop and give more half way through the extractions than that will add on to the 1.5 to 2 hours. However, this is for the average person. Some people will have a metabolism that speeds this up. I have seen some people metabolize and lose the effect of this local anesthesia in as little as 20 minutes! For this person it is a good news bad news situation. This would mean the patient would need more local anesthesia every 20 minutes (3 times if the procedure is an hour), but it also means that person will not be numb as long after the procedure.
Hope this helps.
My best to you!
William F. Scott IV, DMD
That depends on what type of local anesthetic is used. Some of those meds will last 2-3 hours while others can last as long as 8.
