Why Dental Anesthetic Makes Your Heart Beat Faster

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 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 …

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,
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 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.

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.

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.

Thanks for the information. I had an injection before work was done on a cavity on one of my lower right teeth. After the injection, my heart started pounding like mad. It is the next day and I still don’t feel quite right. I hope it will get better soon.

Thanks for the info. Glad to know I’m not the only one! After having anaesthetic to have an extraction, I passed out after having similar symptoms to those others have mentioned, dizziness, light headedness, quick breathing, fuzzy hearing and heavy limbs. I went for a second time a couple of days ago and the same thing happened. I’ve never had any bad experiences at dentists before, so now I know why I fainted. But the weirdest thing was that when I came round both times I was alert and wide awake straight away. At least I know how to prevent it if I need anaesthetic again and also that I’m not the only one this has happened to!

I just go back from the dentist , OMG. …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 50’s. My heart raced so hard and fast it felt awful. My heart was jumping out of my chest…I began text my sister and my children thinking i was going to get a heart attack.. Bad anxiety attack…. Now im afraid to go back to the dentist..

Hi Tom

Unfortunately I have been cursed with bad teeth, I do my very best to take care of them brushing and flossing etc but every year at some point I end up needing a filling. I am very comfortable with my dentist; (we have been friends for over 20 years LOL) so comfortable in fact that I have even fallen asleep while getting a root canal done.

Enough rambling..

I am 43 years old and its only been the last couple of years that I have had that racing heart feeling after my dental needle. (Not bad but definitely enough to make you aware of it) I am wondering if it is just that I am getting “older” and more sensitive to it; or has there been a trend to change freezing medications in the last few years?

I had the same problem many years ago, I also have a heart condition and was told I should have the injection without adrenalin. It has been years since I have been to the dentist because of fear so now I have major teeth problem, I have gotten the courage to return and so far all the dental work has gone good, but I’m concerned after reading that you said the adrenalin is in the injection so only a small amount gets into the body. Does that mean I’m getting too much absorbed in my body now, I have been attending the dentist every 2 weeks, will the injection build up in my body and be toxic, etc.

Ive experienced this today. That I always feel dizzy and sick and palpitation happens to me often for some other health reasons, this experience wasn’t new to me. As the dentist gave me an injection this morning, i felt like almost fainting and my heart pounded so fast.. I thought maybe Im allergic to that. Thanks for the information. Now I know that I dont have another illness or allergy to worry about.

Try carbocaine. It’s not perfect and I even get symptoms, with it. but better than most.

Tom Tom 7 NEEDLES AT THE DENTIST!! – JUST GOT BACK
wow ok everyone I had to have a record 7 needles for my lower block. The 7th one was my my lower lip but thats the only one that seemed to work. I was shacking and had the feeling that I just killed someone and the police were after me.

This is the 2nd time this happened. I told them I don’t do we with that kind of needle (always makes me shake) but I’ll have to be more forceful next time.

Before he gave me the last needle I was about to tell him I couldn’t do another one.
My mouth is so sore right now from getting stabbed.

Good Luck in school btw. Around where are you going to open a practice?

weblink for pictures of carpules!
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/108114579481161861142/albums/5607789194067700369/5754323526483313490?authkey=CO-Q4YTCmu-pIQ

Same thing has just happened to me. Am still scared and feel dizzy now. Luckily I was laying down when my heart felt. Like it was going to come out of my chest. Never happened to me before. I too now have a pounding headache down one side.

Thank you so much for sharing this information. I am more relief now that it seems normal with the fast heart beating. However, I was also shaking quite a bit.

I have always had bad teeth, so I have had many needle in my mouth many times. It just started in my two prior session that my heart started beating quicker and that my hands and feet started shaking. Because my dentist gave me the needle and left me to wait 10min, so, I got up to get my iPad to pass some time. Then I realized I was very shaking and I could barely hold myself standing. When I got th iPad and started typing, I can see my hands shaking.

I asked the dental assistant if they had changed the injection or not, but it wasn’t a new one i havent used before. She said I could be having minor allergic reaction. The dentist told me it could be the epinephrine.

By the time they finish work in my mouth, which is usually about 30min or so, it would all go away. So, I am not majorly concerned about it.

Thank you so much:) This was very interesting to learn. Recently I was given a shot before undergoing a root canal. The doctor left the room while he was waiting for it to take effect. It was during this time that my heart started to race and it felt like someone had put a heavy box on my ribs. My hand flew up to my chest and I was almost concerned enough to call out for help but the feeling subsided after what I think was a couple of minutes. I just tried to focus on the TV screen in the ceiling and calm down because I thought I was having a panic attack, even though I never thought of myself as being fearful of dentists.

I have actual panic disorder for which I recieve disability for and SVT, a heart condition that causes rapid heartbeat. My panic attacks are usually triggered by the SVT. Two times previously I experienced the racing heartbeat, shakes, sweats, dizziness, etc after the numbing shots, but only when I got them on the bottom.. I just finished my 7th trip to the dentist this month and recieved numbing shots each time with no reaction so far. All of this work has been on the top though. Now I am scheduled for 2 more visits, both on the bottom, and I am scared to death! I spoke to my dentist about this and he told me that lots of people experience this and that it is usually only after recieving shots on the bottom. Hopefully it doesn’t happen again this time on the bottom but I am not holding my breath! It is nice to know that, for once, my panic attacks are considered somewhat “normal,” lol!

Hi i just had a Root canal treatment done and i have noticed that when it was getting done the dentist used something along the electronics wise i dont know what it is but everytime he placed it near my tooth my heart was pounding very loud what was that instrument have been i am sure it was electronic cause it was beeping and he actually rested it on my mouth were he placed a holder i was wondering what it could be
thanks

Thanks for your explanation. I wish my dentist would have told me what happpened and why. I felt like a complete goof. After the injection and partway through having the rubber dam installed, I had a sudden panic attack. My heart was racing, I felt like I couldn’t breath, I got very cold and very frightened. I sat straight up and ripped the rubber dam out of my mouth and started crying. The hygienist was taken aback to say the least and the dentist came over right away. He offered soothing words and a juice box and gave me time to calm down. I have never had a panic attack or fears of the dentist in the past. I didn’t understand, but now I do. It was the epenephrine not a mental disorder 🙂 Thanks.

Very interested to read these comments. I had a block injection (lignospan) yesterday and suffered an absolutely terrifying reaction. I started shaking uncontrollably and felt as if I was going to pass out. The dentist elevated my legs and gave me oxygen but the ‘fits’ didn’t stop for 1½ hours and in the end the dentist was so concerned she called an ambulance. It sounds so melodramatic but for the first time in my life I thought I was going to die. My pulse was quite low (about 70 beats per minute). I’ve been told it must be ‘super-sensitivity’ to the adrenalin in the block injection but I’m having a hard time knowing what to believe. Apparently I had the same injection in my upper jaw two years ago and was fine. I’ve never had any anxiety about the dentist until now and the only similar type of thing was an episode about 20 years ago when I had an extraction and felt as if I was going to pass out. I don’t feel as if I can go back for much needed treatment until I know what’s causing it for sure. The dentist seemed to think it was unusually severe reaction but has anyone else come across this?

Tom people want to know where do you plan on practicing out of curiosity?

Recently went to the dentist for a root canal, four days later I get out of hospital after suffering a mild heart attack, from the injection (any underlying pre=existing conditions have been ruled out) I have no fear of the dentist…. within seconds of the dentist starting to inject I lost all control of my right eye, couldnt open my eyelid, I couldnt swollow and had incredible tightnes around my chest, an ambulance was called and two and a half hours later I was in emergency, with elevated enzymes in my blood test, which proved the mild heart attack….I must admit I am rather anxious about going back….apparently he injected into a vein…….I would be interest to know if this could happen again and just how often this does happen

I had half of the injection, he stopped before the entire injection went in,very apprehensive about going for the root canal, I had a slight sting when the needle entered the skin, then an incredible hot feeling through my body, then my eye went, and my vision doubled and everything went down hill from there.

I have just had a molar extracted and just after the injectiion my lip began to quiver, my stomach was full of butterflys, my legs (Thighs) felt like I had just run a marathon and my heart rate increased.

This all settled within a few seconds.

I had 6 injections to the site – dont know why but presume the first couple didnt take?

Thanks for the explanation. I was concerned after my last visit.

I had my bottom two wisdom teeth taken out a few days ago. Due to the impaction of both teeth I was given 6 shots of Lidocane on each side. (I don’t think it was a full dose per shot). Within a few minutes of the shots my heart felt like it was beating so hard, not so much fast, but like it was going to drive through my chest. I also had a little difficulty breathing, like i just could not get enough oxygen even though I could tell I was taking full breaths. I’ve had lidocane before, just not to that extent, without any issue. After about 10 minutes it seemed to calm down and by the time they were working in my mouth I flet back to normal. And after about 30 minutes of work when they did the final stitch it was all wearing off.

I have had this experience today for the first time. The Dentist explained it to me, which helped but it was still scary.
I thought it was down to fear, as I’m a very nervous patient (after a horrific dental experience) and I chose today to go without being sedated like I usually would.
I needed 4 procedures completing and opted to get them done all in one appointment (yey! brave me) 8 injections of anaesthetic later and 2 heart racing experiences, I made it out without having a panic attack, passing out or crying 🙂 However, 6 hours later I’m still numb from my eyes to my chin and across to my ears. Hoping its gonna wear off soon. Thanks for sharing the stories and providing this info, very helpful.

My coworker just had dental work done yesterday, the injection she was given caused her to have a heart attack. We are all very worried about her. I wonder if she may be able to file a malpractice suit. Thoughts?

Thank you so much for posting this! I read it an hour before my dental appointment for a filling and got really worried as I sometimes have palpitations and end up almost having panic attacks. As a result, I asked my dentist for the anesthetic which doesn’t have this side effect and my experience was actually ok. Thanks again. I was dreading going to have the work done and having my heart racing without know there is actually a reason behind it would have been really scary.
Thanks!

Hi i had a visit to the dentist today as one of my tooth’s filling came out. I did not want a numbing injection as before i managed not to have it and got through it ok, but as the dentist wanted to numb it i went along with it.
The first injection did not do much so she gave me another. I felt so ill and my heart was racing I thought i was having a panic attack and felt really peculiar, then i felt light headed and started shaking.and feeling sick and dizzy. The dentist gave me some sugar to take and said give it a while and you will feel better feel, but it took ages to work
.I was aware of the adrenalin in the injection from past experience and always though it was my nervousness causing it as well as the dentist telling me it can often happen. I am on blood pressure tablets and they are 2.5milligram can that cause a problem with the injection… It really scared me today especially when the dentist told the nurse to get the emergency pack out!

Hi there I wondered what happening with me, this is the 2nd time this has happened to me.. I did teeth whitening strips strips time and ended up in A and E, I had major heart beat and thought I was going to pass out.. Had ECG was asked if I’d ever had mini heart attack? 2nd time I got my dentist to give me teeth whitening kit, did it yesterday and by last night I felt weird, again palpitations and felt faint… My friend is a doc, and lives near by, shame said it was panic attack … I wonder what could I be allergic too? Terrified never again ;.(. Feed back would be greatly appreciated? Thankyou Karen

I have had a few bereavements ? Would this matter?just a thought.

I had a root canal done yesterday and the doctor gave me 5 injections. Before he was even finished i felt my heart speed up and i started shaking. I was not nervous at all untill this happened. It lasted for about 5 minutes. I did not tell the doctor but i will next time. I know the alternative to novacain does not numb you as well.

Hi, I feel a little better after reading your comments re: rapid heart after having injection. I was having restoration to a wisdom tooth, my arms went limp, my heart has never beaten so fast, thought I was going to faint, was very frightening. My question – is it normal for my jaw to be very sore 14 hours later and I feel like I have a tooth ache but I can’t pin point which tooth. There was no ache before this treatment. Is it just the jaw, I am confused and taking panadol for the pain.

Hi, Aurelia here again. I sent you a message a little earlier. Forgot to mention that I felt a very painful stabbing pain from my gum to my eyelid when the Dentist was giving me the injection. I usually put up with the injections quiet well but this one caused me to squeel in pain I am worried that this could have caused damage. It is now 20 hours later and I am still in pain. Help!!

I have had four procedures (done in quadrants) over the last 6 weeks. Today, the final quadrant, she injected me and immediately I felt like my heart was going to come through my chest wall. It lasted for about 20-30 seconds and then subsided. After letting it “set” in for a couple of minutes she started to drill much to my surprise that the tooth WAS NOT numb! She gave me another injection this time without any adverse side affects and within a couple of minutes I was thoroughly numbed. I had just recovered from some arrhythmic events from being hyperthyroid and this gave me quiet a scare. Glad to see that it is a normal reaction. I appreciate your post because it put my mind at ease.

I had work done on 3 teeth just two day ago .. had the kind of anesthetic that caused my heart beat to drastically increase for about 20 seconds. Had two of those pluse the other anesthesis usually used for root canal work. Piculair thing is that the procedure lasted 4 hours, tried to go to pass urine a few times – could not, ended up going to ER, had a catheter to empty my bladder. Still have it on for 3 more days.

I am sure this was caused by the local anesthetic – because before these procedure I had no problem passing urine.

Very interested by comments as I have had a racing heart after local anesthetic for some years now.I also have an anxiety disorder and as my heart usually beats faster as soon as I enter the dentist’s surgery I had always assumed it was part of the same thing.A couple of years ago,however,my dentist asked me if I had that effect after an injection because he had recently had a patient who’d had it and wondered if she was allergic,which for some reason had amused him(!).He said it was a combination of ,for most people.the adrenalin and(as in my case) nervousness,so now that I know it’s not just me I feel better about it as it doesn’t last very long,max 30 mins.Mind you a couple of posts have mentioned heart attacks so I’ll probably worry about that now!Had heard the non-adrenalin alternative is not nearly as effective for most people.I think if it were dangerous they would have to tell you,surely?

hi.
i had a root canal today. i told the dentist i am very sensitive to epi and he went ahead and gave me a shot with epi and one without. very quickly after the shots went in, i felt a burning sensation in my chest. it was very uncomfortable. it passed after about 3 to 5 minutes and then he went ahead and did the procedure. what caused this? i was anxious since this was the second root canal on the same tooth. now i am in more pain !! what options do i have at a dentist for other anesthesia if i cannot use “caines” ?
eventually, i want to get veneers. what will i do then for anesthesia ?

Hello Doctor
Im 24 years old, i had root canal treatment in one of my tooth, later on it got infected and the filling went out of it then i decided to get my tooth removed, today i went to the doctor and he operated me and the tooth was removed. As soon as i left the dental chair i felt diziness, numbness loss of hearing and eye sight. Doctor gave me decadran inj. And i felt like i got paralyzed my feet got curved hands and rib cage had the same situation, i felt tightness in my body then after the second inj dont know what it was , i felt better… Can u plz me what is the reason behind? It took enough time to remove my tooth bcoz it got removed into pieces as it was totally destroyed. For some time i was gud but in the end i felt like above???

I had an injection for an extraction yesterday. After receiving the injection my heart beat hard and fat. It lasted about 10 minutes. This has happened only once before. My blood pressure was check during the racing it was 201/106. I do not have high blood pressure. Why was my pressure high?

Hi!,
Few days back, I was with dentist for tooth extraction and adraline was injected. As was being done, my heart started punding for about 10 seconds. Unfortunately, I had to keep mouth open as there were intrsuments inside mouth and hence could not talk to dentist immediately. The throbbing suddenly stopped. Eventhough, I have had few dental treatments in the past, this was first experience! I am 59 and have BP & Diabetics in control. Dentist is advising me to take cardilogists opinion before any further treatment.

Hi everybody,
Around six mounths ago I had extensive dental work carried out,which was spread out over a period of 3 mounths. The work consisted of 6 big fillings.
I had the same experience as all the other people, but the difference for me is since the work I’ve never felt the same!…I’ve experienced regular head aches and bouts of dizziness and with some nausea thrown in.
I was wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience, any help would be a relief, as I’m off to the doctors today for a full health check.
Thanks for reading.

This explanation falls under the category of “it works in theory.” But it’s wrong.

Yes, epinepherine is included in local anesthetics that dentists use . Yes, epinepherine can make your heart beat faster and harder (through B-1 adrenergic receptors in the heart). But the amount you get is not enough to cause systemic effects. The epi that you get instead acts at alpha-adrenergic receptors in the blood vessels near the injection site to squeeze blood vessels (cause vasoconstriction). This has two effects: 1) decreases bleeding where work is going on, and 2) more importantly, decreases blood flow to the area to slow the rate at which the anesthetic is leeched away from the site. In effect, this makes the anesthetic last longer. To reiterate, epi *decreases* the already-small amount of anesthetic that gets into the bloodstream.

You actually get more anesthetic than epi. To get a systemic (cardiac) effect from the epinepherine in locaI anesthetics, you’d have to get a dose so huge that you actually get an arrhythmia from the local anesthetic itself. And it would have to be injected directly into a vein. And those things don’t happen in the dentist’s chair.

When your heart goes thumpity-thump from getting poked in the mouth, it’s because you anticipate not liking it (epinepherine release from the adrenal glands), and you don’t like it (epinepherine release from the adrenal glands). It’s 100% the fight-fright-flight response.

Thankyou for posting this site. It does help me feel a bit less scared, because othwer people have experienced these things too.
I had 2 fillings at a new dentist yesterday. I’d told him I don’t have the adrenaline injection because it made me feel very ill once, so I assumed I was allergic or sensitive to it. He probably injected into a blood-vessel. had suffered with panic attacks and free-floating anxiety for years and the last thing I needed was any extra adrenaline!!!
He didn’t seem too keen on using another anaesthetic as it wouldn’t last so long, but I assumed he used something else as I’d asked him to. He injected both teeth at once, one a the top and one at the bottom back, and by the time he started work on the big bottom tooth I could feel pain from the nerve. He stopped and injected again. When he started drilling I could still feel the sensitivity. So he gave me 2 massively long injections on different sides, which hurt all the way up my nose to my eye. The anaesthetic was dribbling down my throat in one of them and it was horrendously bitter. I started to choke and try to cough. I don’t know how I held off. As soon as he finished he let me sit up and I was choking and coughing and nearly being sick.
I didn’t have pain during the filling and was mighty relieved when it was all done! But when I stood up I felt all woozy….every time I moved my eyes everything took time to catch up. I didn’t feel at all secure so I asked to sit down in the waiting room. I was given a glass of water but was there for some time and still felt very peculiar. I felt on the edge of a faint or of being sick, had a headache and my head felt big and stuffed and I felt too dizzy and wobbly to go anywhere. I have never experienced this before.
The dentist advised me to have something sweet and told me to eat before I came next time…but I’d had a meal before I went. He said it was a combination of lying down for a long time plus stress. That’s always the case at the dentist, but I’ve never felt like that before.
The biscuits worked fairly quickly, but when I looked in the mirror I was really red as if my blood-pressure was very high. I felt strange all the rest of the day and my mouth was very bruised and swollen from the injections, which I’ve not experienced before.
Today I’ve been having lots of uneasy feelings and waves of nervousness, which I’ve not had for years. I even found it hard to eat and I felt a bit sick and had the runs.
Is this the result of the injections because I had too much? Or do you think he gave me the adrenaline injection without telling me? Or can the alternative anaesthetic produce these symptoms?
And why didn’t he wait till he’d done the first filling before giving me the injection for the 2nd one?

I just had a root canal retreatment done today. The endodontist was first going to do the top tooth (#3), so gave me two injections of local anesthetic. I felt my heart racing for a short while, and felt a little shaky, but just focused on taking deep breaths and it quickly went away — I thought maybe I was nervous even though I didn’t feel nervous. It turned out that the top tooth couldn’t be saved, so he instead did the root canal on the bottom tooth (#30) that also needed one, so he did two more injections. I felt the same heart-racing, so knew it was some kind of mild response to the anesthetic. Figured I was just extra sensitive, but decided to google it tonight. I’m so relieved to find out that this happens in a lot of people, especially since I’m having oral surgery next week to remove what’s left of #3. Thanks for the website. 🙂

Thanks for the article. I’ve had dental work done numerous times and never had any issues. Today was different. I’m 32, female and healthy. No known allergies. I got the first shot for numbing. My dentist poked around to inject again. I winced and he stopped. He asked if I was okay and suddenly I felt extremely light headed. Everything went white and my eyes shut. Immediately my heart began to race and I had short rapid breathing. This lasted about 3 minutes. Then slowly subsided and everything was back to normal. Totally weird experience! My dentist was kind enough to walk me through what was happening and telling me to breath slowly through my nose, asked if I ate breakfast and said that this was a reaction to the epi. He said it must have hit a blood vessel. So the event was a bit strange, but I appreciated him talking me through it and explaining. He need two more injections afterwards. Everything was fine. I felt a little during the procedure, but it felt like something cold than pain. I just had never experienced that nor did I know that could happen. I feel fine now, but am going back next week. I like my dentist and think he is great. It was my blood vessel that caused the issue 🙂

Hi! I had to have a molar removed yesterday – after-effects of root canal done years ago – and for the first time I experienced the adrenaline surge. My heart was racing so wildly I was seriously concerned. Added to that, once the heartbeat subsided my muscles were tensing involuntarily, making my legs shake and twitch. Quite an experience. The downhill slide from that rush left me miserable and depressed and feeling this morning like a truck went over me. Fortunately as the day has gone by I’m recovering equilibrium!

thanks 4 giving information 2 people.really keep it up.

Yes, my heart was pounding so hard and fast, I felt unsteady and thought I was going to pass out, seemed like it lasted about 30sec or more and I felt uncomfortable and uneasy all day. That happened only once. Mostly the other times I usually feel a little uneasy eg; trebbling hands for about 10 is that normal?

I had a broken filling removed today and when the dentist injected the lido I immediately experienced terrifying rapid heart beat and felt difficulty breathing. Before I even said a word the dentist told me he “was close to a vessel and my heart is probably racing but it will pass soon”. I have never experienced this before and it was horrible. I am puzzled how the dentist knew I was experiencing tachycardia.

a few months ago i had two fillings and a wisdom tooth removed. when the dentist injected me my heart started to race in my chest, i felt really fluttered and anxious, i had no idea what was happening. i said it to the dentist and he said its probably the adrenaline being absorbed into your bloodstream which happens sometimes. it would have been nice to know beforehand that there was a chance of this happening!

i was back again recently to get two more fillings done and after i was injected and left to get numb i had a weird shaking sensation throughout my body. but no heart racing this time.

i don’t understand why patients are not informed about these side affects.

Hi Tom,

I Just had this happen today and it scared the hell out of me! I was having a root canal on the 16. It’s a long story, but basically crown had been loose for over a year and despite my complaining, dentist missed it. Crown fell off a few days ago and tooth underneath was black! My Dentist thought he could save it by doing a root canal. I was SOOO nervous, as I know this is close to the sinus cavity and figured there had to be a ton of decay to cause it to be black. It took a LOT of freezing 2 1/2 vials and lots in tooth canal as well. I Could still feel it. The Dentist cleaned out most of the 4 canals but temporarily filled it and am going back in a few weeks to finish it off. He said he wanted it to heal a bit (and he ran out of time). He mentioned that the anatomy was not what he expected (not sure what that meant)? Also, the Assistant told be it was bleeding. I was on Nitrous oxide for the first time and at first it didn’t help because I was too nervous. I Cried a little after about 30 minutes when there was still pain in tooth after the 5th needle? I think I finally fell asleep with mask on but possibly passed out because all I can remember was flashing lights under my lids and my heart beating so fast and loud that it brought me “to” if you will. I somehow shouted “hot” maybe meant “heart” and then gradually came to and calmed my breathing. As I said, it scared the shit out of me. Had a good cry on the way home in the car. I seriously thought I might have been dying at the time. Any thoughts? I have an appointment to finish the root canal and possible crown lengthening in a few weeks time. Will be just as nervous, I’m sure. Could the combination of nitrous oxide and the excessive amounts of anaesthetic be dangerous? Or had the oxygen run out? I know they fiddled (removed one) with the tanks part way through my appointment. Thanks

I’ve had a terrible past with dentists having grown up in another country and not experienced American dentists until recently. My fear of them kept me away from them for a while longer than I should have stayed away. Also lack of money and health insurance were major factors too. Now I’m playing catch up and have insurance and a bit more funds to take care of many issues like root canals, crowns and an upcoming extraction.
I find that even though I’m slowly learning that my dentists can be trusted to not deliberately hurt me, I’m still wary of the methods used to work on my teeth. I find that after procedures and lying in the dental chair for whatever amount of time that I’m very unsteady on my feet and worry I’m going to pass out after standing up. I haven’t done it yet but I never feel very stable when I get up and have the fear I’ll one day embarrass myself by falling over. Is this from the injections to numb me up or is this just me being ridiculous?

Yesterday I went to have a tooth extraction,feeling very brave and thinking I’d overcome my fear I decided to have it done awake,as soon as the injection hit my mouth I felt an awful hot electrifying pain and within seconds the room was spinning I started sweating and then continued to be sick. The next day and I’m still feeling very dizzy,sick and my face doesn’t feel right any ideas why this has happened

Well I went back for a second part of my root canal for the “build up”. This root canal seems very long to need 3 visits. The first one I felt great after, took some ibuprofen for a few days and was great. This time was brutal, and when I got the anesthetic my legs immediately felt heavy, my heart raced and then I started to shaking. They give me the informed consent to sign and I barely could hold the pen. I was told it was the epinephrine to make the shot last longer. They must of hit a vessel because I didn’t feel this at all last time. I work in a pain management program and do biofeedback so I teach people all day how to relax and avoid the fight or flight response. I went about my self hypnosis for the rest of the procedure but now my mouth is hurting worse then before the root canal, I had to embarrassingly ask for pain meds, and my chest hurts from fighting against the epinephrine for 2 hours to lower my heart rate and relax.

Injecting epinephrine for a dental procedure is completely counterproductive to helping people relax. No wonder people have panic attacks at the dentist, this initiates them. They really need to find something else.

This just happened to me today, so I thought I would do a little research to find out if it was normal. I’m glad to know that is was not just a nervouse or anxious reaction to getting a shot. It did subside within a few seconds. But I also notice that I feel a little tired for a couple hours after I get my dental work done. Maybe that’s an effect from coming down from the adrenaline. I will do more research. Thanks for the info!

Thank you Tom for posting this. This never used to happen to me before, but today suddenly I felt dizzy and heart beat racing after she gave the injection for almost 10-12 seconds. I thought of running out of the clinic. I started breathing slowly and deeply and that feeling vanished. The moment I came back from the clinic I checked and got this very useful information. Though my dentist is very very calm and never hurries, I didn’t tell her anything about what I experienced. Now I will definitely inform her, so that she is also aware of my sensitiveness for certain drugs. Thank you once again…

I am 57 and have never had any problems at the dentist – until about 2 years ago when I needed a filling – the first injection didn’t work, so he gave me another, that didn’t work either so he gave me a different one – that one made me feel so ill – my heart was racing, I felt feint, sick, dizzy, tingly I thought I would end up in hospital – then a week or so ago I broke a back tooth and went to the dentist today – I remined him that I had a bad reaction last time so he said he would give me a ‘special’ one so that I would be ok.

A few mintues after the injection I felt spaced out, tingly hands, hot and sweaty and ‘not quite with it’ he insisted I sit for a while before commencing with my filling – after the work was completed I still felt odd – and was given some water to drink – that was about 3 hours ago and although the effects are wearing off I feel tired and headachy – why is this?

Glad I found this article! I also thought I was spontaneously having my first-ever dentist anxiety attack, but it’s obvious now the dentist just hit a blood vessel. It was a horrible experience – heart beating like it was going to explode, shaking, numb extremities, tingly left arm and cold sweats that lasted an hour. I actually apologized for being so nervous. I have a feeling the dentist knew what the problem really was but didn’t mention it.

I’ll ask her to skip the epinephrine next time. I’d rather have the pain!

hi, this happened to me today, i had 3 injections to remove a molar, probably the wierdest feeling ever, my heart beating so fast for about 20 seconds, it was quite scarey, at least now i know why, thankyou.

Hi, I just went to the dentist a couple of days ago and had a tooth pulled, it was a different experience since the last times I had a tooth pulled. My heart started beating so fast as soon as I got the first injections, I got a second injection and the same thing happened, even when the tooth was being loosened and pulled on my heart was beating faster and faster that I started to get dizzy, I had to God to help me to slow my heart beat down because I thought my heart was going to bust. Finally it did slow down and had to wait 15mins before I felt ready to get up and walk.

It’s a shame that when a person is already apprehensive about going to the dentist because they are so expensive and very evasive about what they are doing, that you should then be traumatized by thinking that you are going to have a heart attack in the dental chair.

Is a patient allowed to request the absence of epinephrine in their treatment?

It makes my face sweat, cause me to be nauseous and yes my heart race so much I want to fight or flee Anxious) sick for hours after and days of feeling like my heart is doing flip flops. I think I am allergic ????

I just had a wisdom tooth extracted 2 days ago. After she was done I started feeling my heart pounding very fast and I felt very strange, also felt like I was about to faint, the dentist told me it was from the anesthetic and they had me sit in the chair for awhile until I felt better. I also went numb very fast, she told me that she’s never had anyone go numb that fast before, it was almost immediately and she was able to start pulling my tooth right away. I worry now if there may be a problem since I went numb so fast?

This has happened to me last week and again today. I have an erratic heartbeat anyway and am not on beta blockers due to resting heart beat very slow. I have to avoid caffeine etc to prevent episodes. Anyway worse effects today racing heart palpitations, my, neck and shoulders flushed bright red and very shakes hands and legs! Thankfully I found this so I know I’m not allergic to the anesthesia just effects my heart phew! Very hair raising

This just happened to me yesterday when having an implant. I’ve never experienced this at the dentist before, but I have been having adrenal issues and boy did it have my heart racing yesterday. I do not like that feeling, but just wondering if it’s dangerous? Do I request that they not use the adrenaline with the next session?

I had a dental injection once and instantly became shakey (almost as if I were cold). It was uncontrolable tremors, very strange. It was the epi free stuff too – wasn’t not a pleasant feeling. Dentist said it could of been I didn’t eat enough that day.

Because of this sensitivity, my dentist supposedly gives me the alternative anesthetic, but I still feel incredibly unwell; my stomach feels upset, I get a headache and generally feel off balance for most of the day after.
Is it possible to have a sensitivity to the alternative anesthesia?

Earlier today I went to the dentist for extraction and bone graft. He numbed me using Lido and Epi. I normally get sick to my stomach or feel dizzy when I get those injections. I have previously asked for plain anesthetic. My dentist forgot about that. While I felt fine after I was given the injections my hands and nail beds were very blue. A pulse ox was applied and I was at 94. The dentist (who is also my boss) was not too concerned but I was. I immediately purchased some Benadryl. The bluish coloring is gone and my 02 saturation is now at 98%. Could I be allergic to the Epinephrine?

I remember last time the adrenaline-free anesthetic had green writing on it. I had to see a different dentist this time and was getting really paranoid, thinking that he would just give me the normal stuff as he didn’t take it seriously or would just forget. However, I was pleasantly surprised when he opened his drawer and showed me all three different ones, letting me read the ingredients and decide which one. One was the normal one, then there was another one with less adrenaline and then the adrenaline-free. He made me feel a lot more confident and I am now considering having some more work done – something that is not urgent but I’ve been worried about getting done because of the anesthetic issues. He assured me you can have some more serious work done (such as a cap, etc) on the same anesthetic so I am feeling a lot more confident now.

I’ve been having some treatment done and have finally found a really smashing dentist. I now know why my heart races after he injects me. What I don’t understand is most other people shake but I just go totally limp right through my body. Almost paralysed.

speaking of panic attack, these techniques saved my life! http://methinks.info/panicmicro

Thank you! I went to the dentist today for an extraction, and as soon as he injected me I started shaking uncontrollably and I thought I was going to pass out, and I felt cold moving down my body. I made them sit me up as last time I felt like that I was bleeding out and my heart stopped beating. The dentist said it was because I hadn’t eaten breakfast (I never do) and I was nervous (I wasn’t). It also didn’t numb me enough. When I told him it still hurt he acted annoyed. I needed 2 more shots but I insisted on the one without the epi, since his assitant was nice enough to tell me the real reason for the shaking. I was very scared and started to think I was going to have a heart attack.
When he was pulling my tooth before the 4th shot, I could feel it. After the shot I didn’t feel a thing. I told him that and he said that I was probably nervous and that I was thinking it would hurt donor did. Idiot. He is young and I didn’t appreciate that. I have had so much work done, never use gas, never had a problem until today. And he blamed it on being nervous. I need to enter in my records not to use that injection with me again. I do not want to die from a heart attack when there are alternative injections that I never had a reaction to before. I can’t even take Excedrine Migraine full strength because it makes my heart race. This is a very dangerous medicine, and patients should be warned beforehand. I even had to switch to decaf tea, yet I was injected with a drug that made my heart race and body shake uncontrollably.

I was at the dentist on Saturday. I have a cracked silver filling on my bottom right tooth. My dentist gave me an injection and wanted to wait 5 min for my tongue and bottom lip to get numb. My tongue got numb, but not my lip. When he gave me another injection I noticed that my jaw muscle was very tight….it was difficult to open my mouth. He wanted to wait another 5 min for my bottom lip to become numb. When he left the room, I began to experience a cold sweat and felt like I was going to faint. Before I could notify the hygenist of how I felt, I completely passed out. The next thing I recall if my dentist hovering over me waking me up…..I am not sure how long I was unconscious? He took my vitals and everything was fine with my pulse and blood pressure. My bottom lip was still not numb. He decided that he would not attempt to replace the filling that day. He mentioned to me that he probably hit a blood vessle and the epinephrine probably caused me to faint. After the freezing wore off my jaw was extremely sore…it was very painful to eat for about 24 hrs.

That was a very aweful experience, and I still have to go back to get that filling replaced!

Today I was given a shot of epinephrine. My heart started pulsating rapidly and hard and when given a cup of water I couldnt hold the cup without my hand nervously and uncontrollably shaking. My mouth feels like someone face punched me and I am getting a cramp like feeling in my hand. I didnt want to seem like a complaining hypocondriac so I didnt mention it or that it scared the bejesus out of me to my dentist. I almost admitting myself at the Emergency Room but did some online research and found this post. Thank you. Are the strange tingling/cramping feeling in my hand related and/or a normal reaction? Can I ask to go old school and NEVER do this to me again?

This happened to me once on an extraction I felt flush aka hot all over my face. I had shaking and a racing heart. I thought it was anxiety. Half a year later and after a root canal, and another filling I went to the dentist for just a simple filling. I hadn’t had problems anymore with the shot but yesterday I had a lower filling and I just got very hot, I felt like I was going to die my heart pounded so fast and hard, and I began shaking! It was so severe I called the dentist over to me and told them what was happening. My heart rate was very rapid it took about 5-10 minutes after the injection for this effect to go away. I am told I am not allowed to have the injections with epinephrine now because I have this side effect. I feel stupid like did I have anxiety or is this real? Because after that episode I was fine and he did the work without a problem. I didn’t feel like that anymore! I am betting I got it into my blood stream for the filling and the extraction because I haven’t had an issue much in the past. I will note my reaction from now on though!

INSTANT panic attack feeling! UGH! Why didn’t my dentist tell me this could happen? I have PTSD and a history of panic attacks, this injection was horrible for me. I wanted to get up and leave immediately, talk about fight or flight….. I am very angry that I wasn’t warned in advance.

i experienced this when i need to undergo frenectomy,,
when the dentist inject me anesthesia, i felt that my heart beated fast..and I was so embarrassed to admit it. I was feeling dizzy and i thought i was going to faint. Is it normal? So, the dentist postponed the operation.hehe

I had prep work done last week for a permanent crown and the same happened to me! I have NEVER EVER had that happen. I was within a few seconds shaking, and nervous feeling. I also suffer with anxiety and I started to cry and tell the assistant this has never happened to me. She just gave me a cup of water and said I will be ok. After about 10 minutes I felt better and the procedure went on as planned with no problems. I went back today because I was having some pain sensitivity and he decided to shave down a little of my temporary tooth. But, it was a little uncomfortable and he said he would give me a short lasting anesthetic. I did not feel the same effect as the last time. Are the short lasting ones different? However, It burned so bad I screamed and he stopped. He said he didn’t know why it burned. My thought on that could it have been that he didn’t put the topical anesthetic all over so when he was going to give me the second shot I felt it? I have never had that happen. I’m now scared to get more shots where as before that never bothered me. Since I suffer from panic and anxiety I would really love some calming words of wisdom.. Thanks!!

Tom, you’re not addressing those of us who know it’s not a panic attack. I was a swat commander fir years, so im pretty in tune to my fight or flight. I have had serious injuries and felt with them just fine and have no fear of needles or dentistry. But after an injection for a wisdom tooth extraction, almost instantly felt super dizzy and disoriented, my heart was racing then i passed out. The dentist used smelling salts to wake me up, then gave me orange juice and o2. later I had a similar reaction to a cortisone injection or again they gave me orange juice and oxygen and they brought me back to normal. the dentist said it could have been the epinephrine all the other doctor said it was probably my anxiety. I do not have anxiety.and if they truly thought this then why were they giving me orange juice the only thing I can think of is because my blood sugar plummeted. I know that it is the injections that are causing the symptoms and all of these people the question is is if we have is etemity to epinephrine what the hell do we do if we ever needed directlylike as in a EpiPenit would be nice if people in the medical professions like yourself with starting knowledging that we know what the hell is wrong with our bodies most time and all of us are just suffering from some stupid anxiety disorder. Thank you.

I have had a lot of work done in mouth from cavities, extractions and root canal and NEVER have I experienced any side effects like I did yesterday. I thought I was literally having a heart attack. About a minute after the injection my hear started to race out of my chest and by the end of the procedure for about an hour my body was shaking uncontrollably….teeth chattering like I was cold and couldn’t get warm….scared the crap out of me. I didn’t feel right all day…dizziness and just an overall weird feeling like things were unreal…..I NEVER want to experience this feeling again!!

Thanks for this extremely helpful post – I have literally just come back from the dentist very worried after this happened to me, so I was glad to find out a reason for it!

Hi! So of course as soon as I got home I ran to google. Today I had my very first procedue (gingevectomy) done in my mouth and very first freezing ever. Yes crazy, im 30 yrs old and never had a cavity! Anyway you can guess what happened lol My heart raced and I thought I was having some kind of bad reaction to the anesthetic. I wish the assistant would have told me this could happen and that it is NORMAL to feel that haha She had left the room when it started to happen to me and I was soooo close to getting up to get someone to help me lol Anyway, I guess thats my luck, first time every getting frozen and it shoots straight into a blood vessel yay me haha

This happened to me for the first time this afternoon. Heart rate increased and tingling extremities and hearing went down and vision tunneled..It was very very scary and my dentist did not slow down and kept going until I passed out..I know the dental assistant which was there when I woke up.. He then have me 3 more shots because my lip where the work was being done was not numb..I had this done a little over 6 hours now and the numbness is still there completely and I am getting concerned if I will get feeling back…please help…

I was at the dentist the other day and had teeth pulled and got pee right I got out should I be alarmed by this

Usually I don’t feel anything weird except I can feel my heart beat a little faster. I thought it was just because I was a bit nervous.
But there was one time when I had to have a double injection for a root canal. I really felt very strange suddenly. My heart was pounding and I was so dizzy and I felt like I was going to pass out. The dentist told me to go and sit in the waiting room for a few minutes, and a nurse brought me a glass of water. It wasn’t easy for a few minutes but started to subside, and I was ok after 5-10 minutes.
The dentist said it must have been adrenalin which the injection contains, and that I just got a double kick from it. He said it was nothing to worry about, that I would be okay, but he asked me if I was okay to go home. I was. I went for a double brandy afterwards and that made me feel much better!

It was the last of a few presudures of dental work over the past few months when this time my dentist got nervous . The anesthesia took four Canesters until my mouth to become numb. I laugh at the end because it was more traumatic for my dentist as he has never came across a situation like mine before. My mouth just took ages to become numb. I wonder why this happened?

I was at the dentist today having the first stage of root canal treatment.
My sister used to get a dental nurse, so visiting the dentist is not very traumatic for me, despite being an anxious person.
Today, I felt extremely comfortable with my new dentist, she was wonderful. She was extremely friendly, and went out of her way to make me feel comfortable etc.
Within a couple of minutes after the injections, my heart rate went very rapid & irregular, I started sweating & getting hot and cold. I also started feeling very shaky & my hands started shaking. It all happened so quickly and out of the blue, so it really surprised me, as I had never had this reaction before. The dentist thought that I was possibly a bit anxious, but I really wasn’t. They put a fan on me & waited a little while, asking me to concentrate on my breathing.
Within about 5 mins, it had completely gone away & I was back to normal again.
She had taken my complete medical history etc. I have fibromyalgia & Sjogren’s disorder, and von willebrand bleeding disorder. Mild Asthma. I also take lots of medications, which include – Oxycontin, Plaquenil, aleva, sertraline, lipitor, Livial. I also have high blood pressure, which is controlled by the Aleva.
The reaction came and went pretty quickly, within a few minutes, but it was a bit uncomfortable for that time.
I’d appreciate your comments on this – many thanks!
Ps I’m in Australia.

Is the racing of the heart dangerous? I have experienced this before with the injections, just wondering if it could be harmful.
Thanks

I just came back from the dentist and felt my pulse very strongly beating out of my neck immediately after being injected at the dentist and she told me it was adrenalin. I’ve never had that before, but injecting a blood vessel explains thankfully.

I should have also mentioned that the jag didn’t numb me up properly and took a further 2 injections and some minutes later to take affect. Would this be due to the adrenalin?

Thank you so much for the information you posted. I recently went to the dentist, and after three separate injections, I was shaking so much I thought something was wrong. I was already a little nervous to have the dental work done because a few years ago I had my wisdom teeth removed, and while the dentist was giving me the injections to numb my mouth, I passed out twice. The dentist said it was because she hit the nerve near the roof of my mouth.

My wife changed dentists about a year ago and everything was fine. The last time she went she got freezing she had her heart racing, so much the had to call paramedics. Now both amateur dentists has cancelled their appointments with her. One 2 days before and the other 30 minutes before. The main dentist now wants her to be knocked out for a filling or referred to a specialist.

She has since returned to our old dentist twice within 4 days, had a root canal and filling done with freezing and no bad effects. Our original dentist told us that they hit a blood vessel and it is common for inexperienced dentists to blame the patient for the bad reaction.

I won’t mention the dentist but I will say they also missed 3 cavities and a cracked tooth on the x-rays. One cavity turned into a root canal.

Needless to say all 3 of us are now out of that dentists office.

I am so thankful for this post. I had a very scary encounter the other day at the dentist. I am healthy and do not have any allergies never had any reaction to anesthesia but the moment the dentist injected the anesthesia my heart started pounding so hard and hyperventilating I really thought i was having a heart attack. I am a doctor myself but naturally my mind started wandering all over the sinister reasons for that reaction, but here you go with reasonable explanation. thanks a lot

I went dentist 3 days ago had 2 injections I explained that the injection I had before was awful didn’t feel right at all. But was told due to having my wisdom tooth out I would have to have them to stop blood flow. It all went well but not felt same since feeling sick all time dizzy really run out and very unwell why is this.

Our vision is to promote oral health for better health. However, it is our mission to lead improvement in oral health for all patients around the globe, especially vulnerable groups and those most in need. It is not new among us that we treat everyone with respect, honesty for we are definitely accountable for our actions. Every Every dental professional must set best practice standards and should be innovative in all aspect of their profession.

Thank you for all the info on dental anesthetics. I recently went to have a root canal. After two injections of local anesthetics, and an unsuccessful root canal , I walked out of the dental office in the state of a Takusubo Cardiomyapathy. Five days in the hospital and time off work, in cardio therapy, on heart medicine. Not going back to that dentist.

We have a friend who has recently had most of his teeth removed (for dentures). The first extractions were around the beginning of 2015 and he has been dizzy and past out numerous occasions. About 2 weeks ago he had more removed and he again is passing out even falling down the flight of stairs in his home. He told his dentist, and the dentist basically told him this is normal. We have never heard of this before and wondering what he can take, preferably a natural remedy or supplement.

Everytime ive had dental work needed at the back of my mouth the anesthetic always affects my heart rate,its very scary when it happens especially as i suffer with atrial fibrillation,my dentist doesnt seem too concerned about it though,it does however leave me scared to have further treatment,this happend on my visit today and after having over 4 injections the area still wasnt numb enough to be worked on and has had to be re sheduled. I am terrified at this prospect incase it goes to my heart again.

I had an injection at the dentist which made my tongue tip feel like an electric shock had travelled through it. Then my legs started to shake uncontrollable. I was given glucose & a sugary drink. After standing up & doing a few squats the leg trembling instantly stopped. At the time I was also feeling hot. The dentist explained it was probably a reaction to the adrenaline in the anesthetic – which after looking on here would explain it.

I just got back from the dentist and for the first time I felt the rapid heart rate. He injected two doses into my jaw and then I got dizzy and my heart was beating very fast. I grabbed my chest and he said, “you alright? is your heart beating fast?” I said yeah and he was like, “that’s ok it should only last around 5-10 seconds” Man that was scary though thought I was having an allergic reaction.

I just the horrible experience today and had to visit to the ER. I went in for the dental care today and she gave me a couple shot of Anesthetic to numb my gums. In a few min, I got a hard breathe, nausea, and so tight in my chest. I couldn’t even open my eyes and felt like I was going to die soon. Once I open my eyes, my head was all spinning and I puked. It was even harder to breathe, my right side of the face was number, my nose, my throat were felt like blocked by something and felt so week, so hot and I couldn’t even move. I puked like 7 times all the foods I had for the breakfast. Then the ambulance came, gave me couple shots , took me to the emergency room. I felt alittle better when I get into the ER and they did take care of all the things they needed and my day was gone at the ER. I’ve been to the dental care before and I was just there last week done the deep cleaning in my left side of the mouth but what just happened today was crazy! The dentist claimed that she gave me the same amount of injection as last week. We still don’t know what that was and we need to go find out for sure. I felt like I almost died. I would have to say I was just lucky I didn’t die.

This is almost exactly the same problem I had 4 years ago. It was traumatising. Never having had any issues before (I am 51 and have had plenty of work in the past) my GP put it down to the dentist hitting a vein and advised me to ask for injection without epinephrine. I have had 2-3 successful treatments since including an extraction. No epinephrine. No problem. But the nervousness which was a completely new thing remains. I completely concur with other remarks on this forum. The level/strength of medication administered can be dangerous and NEEDS TO BE REVIEWED BY THE PROFESSION .

Thanks everyone for your comments ! I’ve had the same experience at the dentist with the fast heart racing! Scared me to death ! I have one question, I’m scheduled for smart liposuction soon and I’m not sure if I should keep my appointment because they use Lodacaine/ Ephedrine local anesthetics. If I was sensitive to a small amount I can imagine what alot would do. Lipo Dr. said it would be injected in fat so I wouldn’t have the same reaction as I had at the dentist. So to keep my appointment or not !? Thanks

I simply don’t believe that the strong reaction from the “Epi”, is not harmful. I have had 2 teeth pulled, several crowns placed, and numerous fillings done, with NEVER any ill effects from the numbing procedure, until the last dentist who placed three crowns. I don’t get woozy or faint from the sight of needles or blood, and have had 2 crowns done at the same time, with no effects, other than numbing, from the injection. The dentist who place the last three crowns, must have injected into a vein. They never took my blood pressure before the procedure, and I am fairly old, at 68. I, like most of the rest of the people on this blog, was embarrassed to say, that my heart felt like it was going to explode, and I had this weird tingling across my hips. I finally did say something, and was NOT happy to have to have these people who I don’t like, try to comfort me because of the scary medical problem that I was having, because of what THEY did! What would have been better, is if the careless dentist, had just taken precautions, so that this didn’t happen to me at all! I have since wondered, if that heavy dose of adrenaline, hasn’t permanently overworked my heart, so that it now has some problems. I have Always had blood pressure around 114, over 90, and after the dental procedure, my blood pressure was the highest that it has ever been, at 126, over 110. I did feel weird as well, for several days. There’s something wrong with just dismissing this situation with “Epi”, as “not a problem”. This seems to be the prevalent casual attitude that is used by the medical professionals, when it’s something done By them to another person, and not TOO them. It’s wrong, right?

The very same thing happened to me. I thought I was having a heart attack. I was worried about it damaging my heart in fact. I’m also hypertensive, so wondered if it had made things worse. When I finally got up the courage to tell my dentist what had happened, she shrugged it off. I’d always thought she was competent, then I realized she was not. (Not to mention the excessive x-rays she exposed me to.) I never want to experience that again. I now ask my new dentist for injections without epinephrine. And remind him each time — even if I don’t have a procedure.

I just learned about the epinephrine method the hard way. I had a few fillings yesterday…it seems the needle left a nice lasting sensation in my jaw too (where it went in, i’ll give that a few days) – i have tmj and where that shot went in, well, probably just irritated that. Back in the 90’s, it was just novicane (sp?) and that was…FINE by me…I have a heart condition called afib as well as having panic attacks & sometimes palpitations b/c of the afib. Right after the shot, I literally felt faint and as if i could not breath. My pulse and blood pressure shot through the roof. This is how a panic attack “hits” me, so as soon as they told me it was the “epinephrine” (pure adrenaline), i did not go into a panic attack. (knowing what it was helped my psyche a bit) – But that was pretty uncomfortable for someone like me. It was scary b/c it hit so fast and I almost went into panic mode (luckily i keep my panic meds with me as my panic attacks can be very random) – I’m happy to report that I did not get palpitations from the afib..I guess I was too fixated on getting past that shot of adrenaline. Once i knew what it was & that it would just stop after a moment, i was able to breathe slow through it & not over breathe and panic. I am not a fan of this though, naturally. In lieu of my issues, i am now a novicane “first” patient, unless it’s rendered as very necessary. And i’ll be sure to pop an anti anxiety pill “first” if it’s *ever* necessary. You can definitely get injections w/out epinephrine and any competent dentist would change it to that immediately after realizing the issue. Mine did..he was very sensitive to what happened to me and even apologized for the sensation; most people don’t have issues so I’m one of few exceptions to the rule. I would implore for all dentists to make a person aware though…I was handling everything like a champ until that lol! I guess they didn’t think to ask me about anxiety or anything. I’m not obvious in having the issue.

I’m 75 years old, and the periodontist gave me a shot of epinephrine before doing dental implant surgery. I quickly got chest “pain” (actually a weird feeling of pressure like a gummi bear is lodged in my chest). The periodontist said, OK, from now on, no more epinephrine, and we’ll tell your dentist, too. I think he said that the alternative is lidocaine.

I recently had two tooth fillings and they had inject anesthetic into the side of my mouth and the roof of my mouth and I cannot even explain how good it felt having the needle push into the top of my mouth it was like heaven and it felt amazing. Some types of physical pain just feel so good to me but that needle into the roof of my mouth was the icing on top. 😉

I had a tooth filled the other day and was given novocaine over and over and never really got fully numb and I felt some of the novocaine got to the back of my mouth when administrated each time and I’m sure i swollen some. I have not felt normal since. I feel like I’m trembling from inside out and am a nervous wreck and some nausea. How can I reverse the effects?

Hi! My son is going to have his 2 partially erupted bottom wisdom teeth removed next week. First of all I’m concerned about IV sedation because years ago under general anesthesia he coded and stopped breathing and I was watching my respiratory friends bad his little lifeless body. I do not want to relive that moment. My son has a history of SVT, laryngeal spasms and asthma/ severe allergies. I am a RN and I am wondering if local anesthetic would be enough to remove his only 2 wisdom teeth? Nitrous oxide is not an option at the clinic where I have to take him where insurance is approved. It is either local or IV sedation. Any recommendations on what I should talk to the Oral Surgeon about? Unfortunately, I won’t get to speak with the surgeon until the morning of the surgery.

I too had severe heart racing and sweats a few years ago via previous dentist. I changed dentists and my new one uses a block type which has no adrenaline in it. This wears of a lot quicker so work has to be done pretty quickly. Yesterday I needed a root canal and I agreed to the use of the adrenaline type. She was so careful and I was fine. Yes I felt yuck and funny but no heart racing!!

This is from someone with anxiety , so it’s a big step to have the adrenaline one after my awful experience!

Ask your dentist if you can have the block/ non adrenaline one if worried.

I went to the dentist for a cavity fill yesterday. I noticed that when he injected my gums with anesthesia my heart started beating more than normal. I also had a panic attack. I couldn’t breath and couldn’t feel my legs. I also was having severe lower back pain. I’ve had fast heart palpitations before at the dentist but this time my legs and my back were also part of it. It’s been only one day and I just noticed a hematoma (bruise) on my lower back. I have another dentist appointment on Saturday but I’m very scared.

I used to react poorly to anesthesia at the dentist and though it was anxiety as well. My dentist just said wait a few minutes and it will be okay. She wasn’t a terrible dentist by any means, just never explained to me what happened was normal, which made me super anxious the whole day before going to an appointment. I now see a more holistic practitioner who explained it to me and gives me the shots without adrenaline and I’m fine, just sometimes need extra shots. Last week we decided to try the one with adrenaline as I had two procedures that would last an hour each. Before the shot on the first tooth he gave me an apple juice box and I felt fine after the shot. For the second tooth an hour later, he just gave me the shot and i told him I could feel it moving through my body and then started getting shaky. He gave me another juice and told me the shakes would be gone within a minute and they were. I totally don’t understand the science behind why he said it works, but I would suggest trying that approach (also finding a dentist who finds it their job to help ease you through the process). I was super glad to not have repeated shots in the roof of my mouth just to avoid the reaction I was used to.

Thank you! This helped me lol.
I had teeth pulled today and was wondering why they gave me epinephrine.

Please someone help me understand!!

So I was born with Tetralogy of Fallot (Heart condition) I had open heart surgery when I was one and 4 years ago when I was 20. everything is pretty much okay, yesterday i had went to go to get my wisdom teeth removal and as some of you may know if you have a heart condition you gotta take 4 amoxicillins before any dental work. my pain tolerance and everything is pretty good, anyways i was confused because the dental surgeon said for me to specifically take two amox one hour before and i remember asking him are you sure 2? (I have always taken 4 1 hour before any dental work) he said yes and it also says what he prescribed me on my bottle from the pharmacy! I go in yesterday and he asked me how many pills I took and I said two, his mood changed and I said was I not supposed to? you told me to take two and i said are you sure and you said yes. so i then had to take two more and wait around for an hour! when it came time to do my removal they numbed me and then he put the freezing in my gums and right away my heart was pounding like it was going to pound out of my chest like really bad. he asked me if i was okay and i waved my hand in the air and he took the clamp out of my mouth and i could hardly get words out i was gasping for air and mumbled really badly that my heart is beating so fast. i had to take a break and calm down i felt like i was suffocating and my heart went from beating really hard to chest pain. the chest pain wouldn’t go away and he said I think that is enough for today and that the freezing had adrenaline but he has a freezing that has no adrenaline and that next time we could try that. I don’t know what to do, I felt like I was going to die. I am used to heart pains and palpitations but not like that..
i think i am a bit traumatized as well this is the first time i have ever felt scared like this. in the end it seemed a bit sketchy its a nice office and all but i don’t feel like i was carefully taken care of because of my heart condition. I don’t know if I should try to give it another shot without adrenaline with the same doctor and inject another freezing on top of another 4 antibiotics! or find another dr who can put me under or just find another place in general. this doctor also said that putting someone under during a wisdom teeth removal can be dangerous. can someone please help me out with some insight, i would really appreciate it!

sorry for the very long post btw, thanks

I also have a severe reaction to epinephrine. I now have adrenal insufficiency which is exasserbated by epinephrine, where it feels like I’m going to have a heart attack and severe anxiety. The epinephrine gives a quick rise of cortisol then a quick drop. My doctor told me to have the dentist just use the novacaine with out epinephrine. I’ve done it twice and it worked great!! For some reason I actually numb up much better with novacaine only. I don’t know why, but glad I now have something that works.

I’m an extremely nervous patient and whenever I have the injection even though I feel relieved and happy that it’s over… I have a huge needle phobia… still my heart race my vision blurred and I was covered with sweat 🙁 it’s terrible I dunno wat to do coz I have to go back

I’m an extremely nervous patient and whenever I have the injection even though I feel relieved and happy that it’s over… I have a huge needle phobia… still my heart race my vision blurred and I was covered with sweat 🙁 it’s terrible I dunno wat to do coz I have to go back

Thanks for the information. I’m just back from the dentist. I thought I was having a heart attack in the chair. I’m glad it was just a common reaction to an injection. Feel ok now but I was a bit unnerved by the experience.

Hi doc,
i was at the dentist yesterday he was trying to get me numb was doing my vineers but after the 3shot i wasnt getting numb and the pain was only getting worse all of a sudden my body went cold i was freezing cold and i couldnt breath the doc gave me an oxygen mask and 20min later i was feeling better he said i was having a panic attach although i never had an issue in the past and im not afraid of going to the dentist or getting injections
i was wondering what must have gone wrong .

I always gets heart palpitations after dental anesthetics, but last time I had a lot of bleeding while the hygienist was doing scaling, she had to put gauze in my mouth to be able to work, and asked me many times if I was feeling pain, also got strong headache, when got home noticed shortness of breath & measure blood pressure it was high but pulse went lower than 60. I never had that before. The only difference is I’m taking thyroid medicine now. could be a reaction to the medicine?.

Hi,
I had a filling 3 days ago and I was 40mins in the dentist chair. When he injected my gum I felt my heart racing and my arms went weak. The top of my head felt pressured. When I got up I could barely stand and I was trembling. My BP shot up to 185/97 and my pulse 96. I cannot get them down since. Have seen gp and he is monitoring bp. Never had problems before. General health good. Is this uncommon or not and how long will it take for my BP to return to normal. Many thanks

I’ve had a problem 3 times working on same tooth…. last one in back and wisdom tooth gone. Brilliant dentist all my life but 3 times now. I still don’t believe it’s him…. can it be an anatomy problem or something??

I’ve felt like heart coming through my chest & like I could die (ok that’s drama) but each time he’s noticed how pale I go and dropped my head til I am better and it’s not 10 seconds!! Drops head for a good minute or so….

Only happens on one tooth but horrible. He said last time I know we’ve had a reaction last few times working here… we’all go slow …

I’d love to know why it keeps happening… thinking of just having tooth pulled coz of it….. it’s heavily filled anyway!

Thanks

SOglad to hear this i thought it was just me; everytime i get it my heart races for a few seconds scary. glad to know it is not dangerous,

I always feel like I’m panicking after the Novocaine-my heart races and I shake every time. Yesterday I had two fillings with NO Novocaine, and it was a much better experience for me! It’s only uncomfortable for a few brief moments, my dentist is pretty quick 🙂 So much better than the needle, feeling panicky, then being numb for hours…

Several years ago I was in need of a root canal that had to be done in stages. On this one occasion after being receiving the Novocain my heart immediately started racing. I lost my breath and I felt like I was going to die. I couldn’t open my eyes or respond to anything they were saying. I heard them say that I had turned pale and had red spots all over my skin. They didn’t have any oxygen and the dentist wouldn’t call the ambulance. So she had the hygienist to get a plastic bag and they placed it over my mouth and nose. I was like what little bit of oxygen I had they were trying to suffocate me. Of course I knew this was used when people hyperventilated. Needless to say it did work but it was scary as hell.

I’ve had novocaine shots before from a different dentist with no problems. This latest dentist must use epinepherine in her shots because I have never had a reaction like that. My heart was beating so hard that it made my eyeballs bounce back and forth. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. And if that wasn’t enough, the several shots she used still didn’t render my tooth numb. I had to have her stop and she was upset. Of course not as upset as me. I’ll never go to her again and now I ask about if they use epinepherine with their novocaine. I know I’m very sensitive to it.

My dentist of 30-plus years retired, forcing me to find a new dentist. For many many years I have refused shots at the dentist for fillings. Sadly I have had many deep fillings, so I have a lot of experience doing these without shots. The pain from drilling is really brief, usually not very intense for me and definitely not bad enough to justify going through any type of reaction to an injection. For crowns my old dentist always insisted on the injections, and I had only a few mild reactions where my heart sort of raced. I did have one previously crowned tooth re-prepped with no injection, and the pain wasn’t bad. I recently had a tooth pulled by an oral surgeon and of course had to receive an injection for that, and was very nervous about it but had no problems. Then two weeks later I went in for my first crown from my new dentist. I became extremely jittery and shaky after the injection. My hands were shaking ridiculously. I am anxious sometimes but shaky hands is not typical for me in those situations, so I know it was the injection that caused this. The dental assistant confirmed that their injections contain epinephrine. Much of my older dental work is failing and I need quite a few fillings replaced, and I think I have convinced my new dentist to do these without shots, although he seems reluctant. I would much prefer to feel the pain (which stops as soon as the drilling stops) rather than to feel the racing heart and shaking. To me those reactions are much more frightening. Unfortunately I have another tooth that needs pulling and am planning on implants to replace both pulled teeth, so I know there are more injections in my future. I will definitely discuss the epinephrine issue with my oral surgeon because I would freak out if I had some of the reactions others have posted. The shaking is bad enough. Wish I had better teeth but I didn’t take very good care if them when I was young, and now all those old deep fillings from my younger days are failing.

That’s one major reason why I don’t like to have work done on my teeth which I am missing molars on the lower part of my mouth, three molars on each side. I’ve had bridge worked done before and I thought I was gonna die. After the novacaine injection, my heart was beating so hard and it lasted for maybe more than 30 minutes, while the dentist was working on my teeth. I had cold hands and I was trembling most of the procedure. They did a poor job on the bridge that it only lasted 2 years, now I have to have it done again for double the price. I was ripped off from the first dentist that did the work on my bridge, and now I am so afraid to go to another dentist. I have no choice but to have my teeth done because it is affecting my digestive organs, I can’t chew my food well. Even just planning for my appointment, I get so nervous and elevates my blood pressure because of fear of the injection. Help!!!!

I have minor anxiety and bouts of tachycardia (fast heart beat). I asked my dentist about this and he told me there is another local anesthetic they can use that does not contain epinephrine. They usually use a little more because it doesn’t last as long, but it is effective. Now, if I have to have dental work done, I ask for the local that doesn’t contain epi. They dont mind switching, I feel no pain and my heart doesn’t feel like it’s about to pop. Win win all around.

I just recently had an experience with this and had no clue! I thought I was dyeing… Watching the bib go up and down on my chest. It took least a couple minutes to subside which seemed like forever!

I had dental work at 9:40 am and by 12:30 i had a headache and heart palpitation sweating. Why did I have side effect when the medication started to go away and not on the spot?

I had two dental procedures within weeks of each other, using novocaine with epinephrine. The heart palpitations I was told to expect occurred. However, they did NOT subside. It’s been 3 months now and I still have them. I am fearful of heart muscle damage which I’ve heard can occur.

I’ve had a few extractions but today was the first time experiencing an elevated heart rate . Happened almost instantly , as I already have a slightly higher Adrenaline level this made me feel really weird thought was something wrong having a allergic reaction to the drug.

I had a tooth extracted on thursday and when I returned home everything was fine until 3 hours later I started having major skipped heart beats….my pulse is 2 beats a pause 2 beats a pause, 7 beats a pause and back to the 2 beat routine. This has been going on for 3 days. The Dr was not in his office for 4 days so I will call him. I also had extreme exhaustion climbing stairs with dizziness on exertion, worsened strange sensation in my chest/throat. The extraction was uneventful itself and no problems/easy. What could this be? an adverse reaction to the injection/anesthesia. Rather concerned an calling my pc tomorrow.

I had my fillings earlier and I’m used to it I never had a problem having fillings, this tine its different right after the dentist injected the freezing I felt the weird feeling I dont even know if its not or cold feeling from my face crawled down to my feet and after thst my heart was pounding so fast I felt like my heart is going to come.out from my chest for maybe 10 seconds or so but the fast heart beat maybe z little longer . The whole time while I wss thinking maybe I had allergic reaction to it but no ! I dont have allergy to some. Dental injections not even allergic to some medicine . I wss just scared and that’s why I end up looking it up on the net about my experience and i found this so i guess I’m.fine and I’m.not having some heart attack or something.

Hi, I am very concerned with what has happened to me after having a tooth extracted. Usually the numbing agent causes distress for several minutes after I have the numbing agent injected but not until I leave the office. Unable to drive etc…feeling as if I am going to pass out. I have told dentists this. On this last office visit I was fine and the tooth came out very fast, off i went to relax for the day but about 2 hours later sitting on my sofa I had constant tightening in my chest and up to my neck. My husband checked my pulse and it was 2 beats and then skipped a beat…this went on and on and I finally went to the ER, My EKG was abnormal and they told me to follow up with my PCP, as did the Dentist when I left hi a message. It is now 21 days later and I am still having trouble, also with exercise feeling fatigued and lightheaded climbing stairs. I had a holter monitor for 24 hours but the hospital has lost it. So my PCP is referring me to a cardiologist (which may take weeks or months) I want to go prepared so they can reverse whatever happened that day. It had to be the injection but I am concerned it did something to my heart and am concerned at all the delays getting treated. At the ER the monitor showed I had 13 PVCs a minute plus. Is there anything I can tip the cardiologist off with so there are no more scratching heads. Thank you in advance

I had this happen for the first time ever. My heart rate increased during the time they were drilling (5:30pm) and didn’t slow down. I wazs getting prepped for a crown. when that was done I told the dentist and it was about 100. he said it was most likely the epinephrine in the blood stream. My face was numb for almost 5 hours and my heart started to calm but still have was faster at 9:30pm. I tell you what, the can drill all they want but I won’t agree to that shot again.

Last year I had two tooth extractions in one sitting and it was pretty full on. The dentist really dug in there. I felt like I had been beaten up afterwards, it hit me for six. When the anaesthetic started wearing off I started to feel aching pains across my chest, upper back and down the inside of my arms. I thought at first that it was just an after affect of what had just happened but after about an hour it started getting worse so I phoned the dentist for advice and he told me to go to A&E. It turned out I was having a heart attack! I don’t know if the dental treatment had anything to do with it but the doctor dealing with me explained how it could have been and explained how. I don’t remember what he said though.
Has anybody had or heard of this happening just after dental treatment? Would be good to know if the dental treatment could have caused this and how.

I had a tooth extracted on 1/4/2018, 2 hours past extraction I had a very strange sensation in my chest which turned out to be Premature ventricular contractions in abundance. I have continued to have issues and gradually has gotten worse with chest pains that engulf my whole chest area upper back, up to neck and down arms to elbows when I increase activity. Also have developed PAC as well. ER visits abound and they keep me overnight with testing and nothing can be found but they tell me to come back if it gets worse. When I ask how the dental procedure could have caused this (so I don’t have whatever was done again) the med professionals look at me and say nothing. I do know that anything ending in Caine is related to the caine in Cocaine if you do your research…..and Cocaine can cause heart issues. Thank God for the internet when professionals can’t put us at ease in making healthy decisions. Something happened to my heart that day which I am very certain of but wish I knew what so I could reverse it or prevent it in the future. Think if I ever need dental work again I will have my husband extract with whiskey (the old fashioned) (the tooth I had extracted was not an infected tooth, it was starting to drop with no tooth below it and was a preventative procedure) so much for prevention!

Hi my name is Germy Today I had my wisdom tooth pulled out! The dentist gave me 3 shots start sweating slot all over then I throw up.. and after he pulled it out I felt dizzy couldn’t drive . Was that normal?

Hi there I had a re – root canal treatment. While the dentist was injecting I felt my heart rate go up and beat so fast I had never felt like that I thought I was gonna have a TIA !!! But once the injection finished my heart rate went back to normal and throughout the procedure I didn’t feel any pain or heart racing (palpitations) symptoms again. I thought it was this was from nervousness but realise it could be the adrenaline they injected into the vessel!! Thanks for the info !

This just happened to me also!!! They had to numb me 3 different times because it wasnt working and the third time I thought I was going to pass out ! Heart thumping so hard . I started shaking and crying because I thought I was having a panic attack . I told the dentist my heart was thumping and he never said that it could cause that so I did feel a little embarrassed but it was scary ! Just for a filling I could still feel !

I went to the dentist today and got the injection that had epinephrine. It was the worst experience ever I felt like I was going to die like my heart was going to jump out of my chest it went up to 150 beats per minute my blood pressure went up and I’m only 33 years old and I was just getting a cavity filling. What 10 seconds of getting the injection I felt a horrible experience through my body . My heart started beating really fast and my legs started jumping I told him I didn’t feel good and they told me I was probably nervous I reassure them it had nothing to do with me being nervous I know my body I asked him to check my heart rate in my pressure cuz at this point I couldn’t really talk turns out that I cannot take this shot ever again it should over 25 minutes for my heart to come down. Towards the end my heart rate was at 1:13 which was way better than what it was.they’re staff a
kept them providing me with water. And breathing slow techniques when this happened they were not prepared for this it took at least 4 minutes for them to try to find the heart rate and the blood pressure equipment it was a horrible experience. Thankfully I felt better what’s in the 30 minutes but at that moment I was so scared for my life I did remain as calm as possible because I didn’t want my heart to get worse but it was the epinephrine injection.

Well i have a lot of piercing and tattos im not even close to be afraid to neddles also never on my life had an anxiety attack well it scare the shit out of me my heart rate was crazy Fast even the doctor get scared . He call the 911 and they said i had an axiety attack wich i was sure that im NOT feels good now that i read all this .

Hi everyone

I do get fast heartbeats after epi shots at the dentist. Its terrible. Generally i dont have side effect, the only thing i feel is jumping heart
I have portal hypertension and iam not is it safe to use shots with adrenaline

My husband had a root canal 2 wks ago and crown temporary today.

He has sharp pain in his chest and shooting down his left arm.

His dentist said “go to the doctor”.

What is up with the concept of “informed consent” in dentistry ???

None of this was discussed as possible.