Do you have a dental procedure coming up? Or perhaps you’ve just gotten something done and you’re experiencing numbness after anesthesia. There are a few things you can do to handle the numbness you might be feeling. Here are our top 5 recommendations:

  1. Wait It Out
    Once your procedure is over, you will have some degree of numbness in the area that was treated. It can take up to four hours for anesthesia to completely wear off. You can check the time by looking at a clock or watch, or waiting until you need to do something that requires the use of your mouth (e.g., eating). Remember, it’s better to wait too long than not long enough.
  2. Wiggle Your Jaw
    If you’ve been waiting for a while, and you still feel some numbness in areas of your mouth and jaw, here’s a trick that works like magic: gently move your jaw to the left and right, up and down, in a circle, and anything else you can think of. This will help get rid of any remaining numbness in your face and allow you to feel things normally again.
  3. Massage Your Lips or Cheeks
    Once your numbness is wearing off, try massaging your lips and cheeks using gentle pressure. You can do this either with your hands or with a soft washcloth. Don’t be too rough with this method, as you’re trying to stimulate the circulation in these areas to get rid of the numbness rather than cause any damage. Make sure not to massage the area where you got the injection or anywhere too close to your mouth. You may also want to avoid massaging around your neck area.
  4. Move Your Tongue from Side to Side
    Moving your tongue from side to side can help the numbness go away by stimulating your facial nerves. You can do this for up to five minutes. This will help the numbness dissipate more quickly so you don’t have to wait around with a stinging or itching sensation in your mouth.
  5. Distract Yourself
    While this method doesn’t get rid of the numbness, it helps by refocusing your attention to other things. Instead of focusing on reducing the numbness, try distracting yourself with other things. Try out completing a puzzle, playing games, or reading a book. Before you know it, enough time will have passed that the anesthesia will have completely worn off!

Dental Numbness Goes Away in a Few Hours

Always remember, numbness after dental work is normal and should go away in a few hours. The anesthesia will wear off on its own, but if you are concerned about any symptoms, it’s always best to consult with your dentist just to be safe. If you begin experiencing pain that does not go away or gets worse over time after your dental visit, give us a call to schedule a follow up appointment.