Strange Novocaine reaction? Uvulitis?

[hulagirl87]

Ok, so on monday I went to the dentist and had a temporary crown put on a tooth that had been damaged a while ago. long story. anyways, they put some topical gel novocaine and then a couple shots around the tooth and on the roof of my mouth. there was a lot of drilling and then the placing of the crown. a lot of pain too! I was there for about 45 minutes total and I have to go back next week for the permanent crown.

Ok, so last night (Tuesday) I started getting a sore throat. It was weird. I woke up this morning and it was still sore, but didn't feel like a regular sore throat, felt like something was stuck. It got to the point that I was dry heaving (sorry! gross I know!) and could not breathe. it felt like my airway was blocked. DH called 911 and I went to the ER. After 8 hours there , it was determined that I have uvulitis. They have me on an antibiotic and a steroid to try to clear it up. They are thinking that it is tied to my dentist visit. Now I'm wondering at what point I might have had a reaction and I'm wondering if it was the gel novocaine?

Sorry so long, but just wondering if anyone has ever had this happen to them. I'm scared to go back and get the permanent crown!

 

[of the seas]

My dh gets this about 1-2 times per year. His uvula swells up so much it actually sits on the back of his tongue! Yuck! It used to alarm him quite abit, but no dr. has given him a straight answer on why it happens to him. he thinks it happens(and the dr said it could be the reason) right before he gets a bad cold/flu/bronchitis. He usually gets prednisone(?) where you take so many pills the first day, then decrease each day after. It usually goes away in the 1st full day of the meds.

 

[MK2thcleaner]

I do not think that this was a reaction to the local anesthetic or topical anesthetic gel. If it were, it would have occured more quickly. As an aside, we no longer use novocaine in dentistry. Most likely the topical gel was benzocaine and the injected could have been one of many "caines" including articaine, lidocaine, or mepivicaine.

It is possible that something from your treatment got back there and irritated your uvula and caused it to swell. Having said that, in the last ten years I've been a dental hygienist, we haven't had a single case like this in my practice.

When you return for your crown bond, just let them know what happened. It's quite possible that you will not even require an anesthetic to have it bonded, though it's impossible to know until the temporary crown is removed and sensitivity is determined.

As the PP mentioned, sometimes these things can be associated with stress. A stressed immune system can't fight off everything as effectively. That's why people get "cold sores." The virus sits in a little control box on the nerve pathway and when it senses the body can't keep it in check anymore, it breaks free and follows that nerve pathway out to the lip and blows up.

Good Luck!