Your face feels funny, you drool and you feel like your tongue is about six times to big for your mouth.
While they still haven't figured out a way to completely elimiate that misery, dentists may be on to the next best thing -- shortening the amount of time you have to live with those sideeffects.
Denice Trevino doesn't mind the dentist's office, but she hates the numbness that lasts long after her appointment is over, making it hard to eat or even talk.
One shot of anesthetic can numb soft tissue in your mouth for three to five hours.
Dentists are trying to ease the inconvenience by using a drug that reverses the effects of anesthetic. After dental work is done under usual anesthetic, dentists give the patients a reversal agent.
"It causes vasodilation, so it makes those blood vessels dilate in the area. And the act of the dilation helps to reverse the affects of the anesthetic," explained Dr. Vidya Sankar, DMD.
In clinical trials with four common dental anesthetics, including lidocaine, the reversal agent got patients back to normal in about an hour -- cutting recovery time in half.
"It shortens the length of anesthetic, soft tissue anesthesia and return to normal function," Sankar said.
After just 30 minutes, Trevino says she can feel the numbness wearing off. "I can feel it's already starting to wear off quicker than it usually would."
She's feeling comfortable and confident, ready to get back to her busy life.
The FDA recently approved the anti-numbing agent for adults and for kids six and over.
The treatment is generally not covered by insurance.
