. A small percentage of your purchase price will help support Oral Answers. Don't worry -- you'll still pay the same everyday low prices at Amazon.
Why Dental Anesthetic Makes Your Heart Beat Faster
You may have noticed that when you get a dental injection, sometimes your heart feels like it's going to beat right out of your chest. You've probably just assumed that your heart is beating so hard because you're nervous.
That's partly true, but there's another reason — the dental anesthetic actually contains something that makes your heart beat faster!
Why Your Heart Beats Faster When You Get a Dental Injection
As I mentioned above, nervousness may play a role in making your heart beat faster when you get a dental injection. When we get nervous, our heart beats faster because our body sends out a substance called adrenaline that increases our blood pressure and causes our heart to race.
Most of the local anesthetics used in dentistry in the United States contain epinephrine (also known as adrenaline.) Not only is your body causing your heart to speed up by releasing adrenaline, your dentist is giving you adrenaline in the local anesthetic!
Don't worry, dentists don't want you to have a double-dose of adrenaline to make you nervous. Local anesthetics contain epinephrine for another reason: The epinephrine constricts your blood vessels.
With your blood vessels constricted, the local anesthetic stays near your tooth for a long time. That way, it gives your dentist a lot of time to work on your tooth without you feeling it. Another reason that dentists want your blood vessels constricted is so that only a small amount of local anesthetic gets absorbed into your body.
Conclusion
You may have felt your heart pounding more during some dental injections more than others. If the dentist happens to inject the local anesthetic into a small blood vessel, it can quickly travel to your heart and cause it to beat very hard and fast. This generally subsides after 10 seconds or so and is not dangerous to you. Most of the time, the local anesthetic is not injected directly into a vessel and stays right near the nerve without affecting the heart.
Have you ever felt your heart race when getting a dental local anesthetic injection? I'd love to hear your comments and questions in the comments section below. Thanks for reading!
No related posts.
33 Comments | Leave A Comment
Leave a Response
Hi, I'm Tom. I'm currently a 4th year dental student in the USA. I started this blog to help people take better care of their teeth. You can 
Entries(RSS)
I had an injection at the Dentist and my mouth didn't go numb at all but my heart went so fast I thought I was going to have a heart attack.I didn't say anything to the Dentist, other than the injection hadn't worked .He gave me another injection which worked fine and didn't effect my heart. I was too embarassed to say about my racing heart,because although I've never experienced a panic attack I wondered if I was having one.Now having read this I realised he must've injected a blood vessel.
Thanks for sharing you're experience, Marie - It sounds like that's what happened.
Thanks for the interesting information! I have just gone through the same experience yesterday before undergoing a root canal treatment. As soon as the dentist gave me the injection I almost felt like fainting and also experienced palpitations. At first I also thought that this was maybe because I was tensed but then the dentist explained what you have stated in your article and said that statistically speaking, this generally happens to about 1 patient in every 25. Having experienced this for the first time, I am however wondering and rather concerned whether it was the dentist's fault for perhaps not being careful in administering the anesthetic, or whether this truly commonly happens to patients ...
Hi Stephanie - Most dentists pull back before injecting the anesthetic. If we see blood in the cartridge, that means we're in a blood vessel and we move around a little until we can confirm that we're not injecting into a blood vessel.
Sometimes we may pull back and not see blood, and then when we inject the anesthetic, the needle moves slightly and goes into a blood vessel. It usually doesn't happen. In all honesty though, I have seen dentists that don't pull back before injecting, and for these dentists, it is much more likely that they will inject the anesthetic into your bloodstream and get your heart beating fast!
I hope that helps, Stephanie - Thanks for your comment! Let me know if you have any other questions.
This never used to happen to me before but recently it happened each time I had to have dental work done. It had been many years since I had been to the dentist because of truly traumatic experiences. Late last year I decided to just get it over with as I knew I needed some major work done. Since it had been some years and I'm older now I thought I was having a panic attack and was empbarassed but I told my dentist that my heart was racing. The frst time he just explained to me that sometimes that happens and that it will go away shortly, and it did. But he didn't explain to me why it happened, so thank you for your explaination it really helped and now I finally understand what happens.
This very same thing happened to me just yesterday...never before happened to me and I have had never been afraid of dental work and have had a lot done in years gone by. I am in my early 70's. My heart raced so hard and fast it felt awful. This was my first visit to this dentist...I really like him and he is well recommended. This was work done on molar 30 ...also the deadening wore off too soon.
It was work done for a crown...I am hoping I won't need anything for doing the fitting of the permanent crown. At my age I am afraid of actual damage to my heart.
After 5 hours my pulse was still 88 and is usual at 70-72. I ran sprints at age 59 and never had my heart raced like yesterday.
I'm going in tomorrow for some extensive dental work. 2 crowns and 3 fillings on the bottom and impressions for the crowns and latter removal of 7 top teeth for a full denture.
I'm already experiencing panic and don't go in until 11:00 tomorrow.
Impressions make me gag due to going into Anaphylaxis several years ago, with everything shutting down, including the breathing. Now if I have trouble breathing I panic big time and relive the experience all over again.
The anesthesia causes me heart to race, which doesn't help with the panic, making it worse.
I'm also dreading the temp dentures being put in immediately after the extractions, due to the swelling causing breathing difficulty.
Don't you feel sorry for my poor dentist?
Wish me luck. I'm gonna need it.
Also, is there a pain medication that doesn't cause the heart to race and has fewer side effects than others?
Hi Becky - I got to you a day late, but I hope everything went well. Was it as bad as you thought? You could ask for a local anesthetic without epinephrine (usually called mepivacaine or Carbocaine), which wouldn't cause your heart to beat faster.
Hi,
This has happened to me, my filling had come loose in my molar tooth. I ended up calling an emergency dentist, when i was sat in the chair they said that I was to have the tooth pulled, they gave me an injection , two doses at once, a few miniutes later my whole body was shaking , I couldn't control it , my heart was pounding in my ears , I was so scared, the dentist told me this is perfectly normal and handed me a drink of glucose, I couldn't even hold the cup I was shaking that much.my mouth hadn't even gone numb, she came with another injection , but there was no way I was having a third one, I couldn't even concentrate my mind was swirling and my body was in a fit like state, I thought I was going to die.my jaw was so sore days after and I still had my tooth , I'm sure to ask next time I go to the dentist what there injecting , because there is no way I ever want that experience again !!!
The Same thing happens to me every time and it drives me nuts! I have no needle phobia and I have been injected many times before. The first time it happened was about 8 years ago, it was so strange because it had never happened to me before. I was injected in the gums and everything was fine but a few seconds after the dentist walked away I felt dizzy and started to sweat and I even passed out completely for a moment. Well I actually just got back from the dentist about 20 minutes ago and decided to look online to find out what exactly is wrong with me. I am very relieved to see that I am not the only one that has experienced this, I actually found several blogs and even a forum discussing it. Anyway I went in today because I thought one of my fillings came loose because the air as well as cold drinks were really bothering it. It turns out that there was a cavity between the two teeth that ran under my old filling and the dentist said that I will need a root canal. Before I could digest that information he whipped out a big ole needle and proceeded to inject my gums around the tooth. He stood up and said, "lets just give that a few minutes," and he walked away. Sure enough a few seconds later I got that light headed dizzy feeling and began to sweat, fortunately I was in a laying down position in the dental chair and I did not pass out. However my hands felt like two balloons and I could feel my feet throb. For some odd reason I just decided to just go-with-it and in a few minutes it passed and I felt much better. My mouth is still numb as I type, but I can feel it is slowly starting to wear off. What really sucks is that I have to go through it all over again 5 days from now for part 2 of this root canal.
Today was the first time I've ever had a reaction to the anesthetic. I'm 58 and have had my share of dental work over the years. Once, many years ago, my dentist had to give me multiple injections (way more than normal, he said) to numb things but I did not have a reaction. Today the first injection wasn't successful, so I received a another one. I felt my heart race for about 10 seconds after the second injection and I got the chills. The dental assistant brought me a blanket and I slowly warmed up. Thanks for posting the information about this. It was very helpful.
My mom had 2 implant yesterday, she said that she felt her heart beating so fast when they gave her the injection, I know that this is an expected side effect of the medication they give but the problem is that her heart rate is not getting slower and its been like 105-115 for almost 2 days already, her heart rate usually is fast arround 87, but I am concerned regarding her heart rate that it can't get slow. She is taking valerian tablets but it wasn't helping her so she callled the doctor and he said to take persen forte tablets. By the way this is happening in my country not in US, but they use same medications as US for local anesthetic injections I think. Please help me what can it be? I am very nervous and concerned about her. Thank you
It is better for us to do the surgery in Armenia because it needs to be done as soon as possible. We have sent all the information about the hospital in the papers that we filled out. We talked with Juan and he said that because sometimes hospitals want to get paid and then do the surgery it may take some time, and if the surgery needs to be done immediately we have the option to pay and do the surgery, and after that you will reimburse us. I prefer this option because the surgery needs to be done as soon as possible. What papers will you need? What is the next step? Thank you very much.
Sorry guys, wrong comment!
all these comments are making me feel so much better about what i experienced the other day i do nomally have anxioty, i was getting a temp. filling bfore ineeded a root canal, i was nervous but i didnt want to take the valum the first injection i thought i was going to be okay, the she went over to the roof of my mouth starting injecting and it hurt s bad it felt like a hard baseball was placed in my mouth... after that my heart started racing, i was dripping sweat i wasnt sure if i was havng a panic attack or what.. now i know it was the numbing medicine. i have to go back and get a couple more fillings but i feel better reading everything on your website! i just wanna get it over with!!!!
Today the dentist had to give me a shot for a filling, and as soon as he started injecting me I started shaking really bad and my heart was racing and he put his hand on my shoulder and told me not to go anywhere, and I was like "WHAT." And he told me he gave me a different shot this time, it had adrenaline in it, and I was pretty scared. I think he started working before the shots settled in because I felt everything. But for the rest of the day I couldn't feel a thing. Until now and my mouth is incredibly sore. Maybe my dentist just sucks.
Hello I just was at the dentist today because my wisdom tooth was killing me the dentist asked if she could extract it i said okay and they got to working on it she put 4 or 5 shots of the numbness I'm than she waited next to me asking if I felt numb yet i said yes my whole lip was numb I felt slobbering everywhere than about 1 minute after injection my heart started racing so fast I was like maam my hearts beating fast she said it happens and ill be fine she told me to take deep breaths and slowly breath through my nice than they started working on my tooth so eventually i stopped thinking about my heart and was concentrating on what they were doing I still felt a lot a lot of presure but it didn't hurt to where I said ouch!! Anyways your information was a lot helpful thank you
hello tom i went to the dentist today and I have no idea what the doctor injected on my mouth, I was scared, traumatized, my heart was beating fast, i think i passed out, it was a very scary experience, it was so serious that the doctor didnot even perform the wisdom removal and he was about to call an ambulance i am wondering if there is a way that i can sew him ? what do you think, please let me know asap thanks
it happened to me just yesterday and when I asked my dentist why that was happening he said it was psychological. I just had to investigate it a bit because I don't get scared that easily. Very informative and helpful. Thank you.
I have had that feeling every time I've gone to the dentist, and at first I sort of hated it, but now I kinda like it. It is an interesting feeling, but I definitely would not want to feel that all of the time like some people with Cardiac dysrhythmia.
I think when Drs don't have any answers they call everything a panic attack! Just watch Mystery Diagnosis! If there is one thing I know it's a generic word thrown out there when you don't know what is actually happening. I know that I have gone to at least five appointments for one root canal have had a temp for eight weeks now in my mouth which is pissing me off to no end. My last part of the actual root canal was today I wasn't nervous and was expecting my permanent crown as my dentist said three weeks ago that this appointment was for that NOT so instead I was injected with an anestetic and thus more drilling on the same tooth while it was happening my heart raced my stomach was burning and my teeth uncontrollably chattered. I think since I wasn't nervous and had almost every procedure done in my mouth it was caused by the anesesthia. I don't think it's fair to lable all these people with panic attacks when it's clear it's the drug! To find out Root Canals may not be the solution permanently I wished I had it extracted as this is testing me seriously. One tooth since Jan 18 to March 16th. Sometimes I rather have no teeth than to deal with this!
Hi all
So glad I found this site. I have been to the dentist today and the same thing happened to me. I had the injection and immediately my heart started pounding and my ears went fuzzy, I couldn't hear the radio that was playing in the background and felt very dizzy. The dentist kept me lying down and calm. He asked was I nervous before coming in, I said yes. He asked had I eaten, I said no as I had come straight from work. This all contributed towards my reaction. He gave me a glucose tablet and I felt much better.
It was sooooo scary really thought I was going to pass out. Was worried there would be no-one to pick up the kids from school. I now have a headache down one side of my head. Was thinking that I was going to the "dentist from hell" hahaha, have to go back in two weeks and am NOT looking forward to it.
I sympathise with you Judi, I felt exactly the same as you. Very unwell honestly felt like I was going to pass out. My Dentist explained that there was another type of injection and I would be given this from now. Ask you dentist about this Judi, I definitely feel spot on when I get that injection and not the adrenaline. X
Oh Judi I know exactly how you feel! I am not looking forward to my appt. either.
I too has this injection with adrenaline. It made me feel very unwell. The colour drained from my face and I thought I was going to pass out, my heart was racing like I've never felt it before and just felt really ill for hours afterwords. I now don't have the injection containing the adrenaline. Does this mean I have an alergy to the adrenaline given? I'd spoken to my GP about it and he said I should wear a medical tag however the Dentist said not to. What do I do?
I understand that the GP said that even the small amount given by the Dentist made me feel this way so imagine what a larger dose might do. The Dentist asked if I would need the adrenaline for a bee sting etc and I said I didn't know because I'd never been stung and she just said she wouldn't bother saying I had an alergy!
What will I do?
I had that experience at the dentist. He was having trouble getting me numb and it took several shots. All of a sudden my heart started pounding and I just felt strange and I stopped him and he asked if I was ok. He told me what had happend but it kind of scared me and since then I have been afraid to go back. I had one dentist tell me that he didn't aspirate and that's why it happened and she assured me that it would never happen at her office. I need to have some work done now and I'm going on Monday but very nervous about it.
It's definitely scary Laurie! I know how you feel. Ask your dentist for the injection that doesn't contain adrenaline. I know it works for me every time now and I feel fine. Good luck on Monday x
I had same such experience yesterday! I have had many prior dentist visits; however, yesterday I went to a dental school to save some money. (so much for thrift!) But to add to this near death feeling, my body uncontrollably shook, can someone please exain this to me??? The procedure was not completed as my bloodsugar had risen to 291! So I went through all this experience for nothing.
Going to the dentist soon. Had a very bad reaction from a dentist in Washington State - my heart was beating very fast - much faster than normal, he told me to leave and to never come back again! I learned later from another dentist that patients can die from this rapid heart beat, if it's administrated wrongfully. I've had dental work all of my life - unfortunately, from an impoverished, uneducated family. I'd like to finally get implants or false teeth someday, because I really hate the rapid heart beat. I noticed that novacain never gave me this rapid heart beat - but took a long time to get me number. Seems I get a worse reaction to lidocaine. The doctor said lidocaine is the same drug that's put into crack/cocaine. The last dentist that I went to - he took my blood pressure was normal when I came in and when I left, it was 140 - which is very high for me. I've been self administering baby aspirin 3x week because I've gained so much weight over the years - since my husband died of cancer in 2009, he was diagnosed in 2006 - so, it's been a long haul for me. I have to go see a dentist - but, will be going to see my doctor first - don't want to die of a heart attack at the dentist! When I told the last dentist that I wanted him to use novacaine and not lidocaine - he used lidocaine anyway! I don't appreciate doctor's who go against specific instructions. I don't know of any alternatives. Tried laughing gas once and was funny - but the nurse that was giving me the gas, kept letting it accumulate & was giving me bursts of the gas, rather than let the gas flow through the tube freely. I'd like to find a dentist with experience and who I can trust and who will respect my wishes.
Another thing - the last doctor I went to - when i told him i did not want lidocaine and he gave it to me anyway. He told me I had high blood pressure and to go see a doctor, that's why my heart was beating so fast @ 140 when I left the dentist. Will never go back to that dentist ever again.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Christine. A good alternative would be to ask for "Carbocaine without epinephrine." That shouldn't make your heart beat faster from the anesthetic (although it may beat faster due to nervousness!)
I am sorry that the dentist didn't respect your wishes. Good luck with your future dental work and finding a dentist you can trust!
Hello, I have felt that for years and figured it was normal so never mentioned it. I started asking some friends who have never experienced it. My dentist said only some people experience the rapid heartbeat. He told me the alternative ananesthetic can be used, however it wears off quicker. I had 2 hoours of work done on my teeth today and started shaking at the end. It was very cold in the office so I don't know if that contributed to it. They gave me a blanket and once I warmed up it went away. Anyway, thought I would tell you my experience. Cheers !
I went to get my bottom molar out today and as soon as the LA went in, my heart was jumping out of my chest. i was surprised, i didn't think i was 'that' nervous. i told my oral surgeon and he said its the adrenaline in the LA, completely normal. he does extractions all the time being an oral surgeon so he knew why and wasn't worried.