A visit to the dentist.

[shellamanda]

we had a family trip to the dentist yesterday, when my daughter had gone in for an extraction she was gone for some time, when she came out to wait for the anesthetic to kick in I was mortified, she was crying and shaking from head to foot . one side of her face was bright red and the other where she had the injection was pure white, when I asked what had happened she told me that when the injection went in she felt that something was wrong, a pain had shot into her eye and it felt like her eye was on fire, she had lost her sight for a short time but it came back blurred for quite a while after, her chest and neck came up bright red as we spoke,if this was an allergic reaction to the anesthetic why did it affect her sight, can anyone please tell me.

[weeal]

that happened to me when I was a teenager as the needle hit the optic nerve and I had to wait till it wore off as I couldnt see, pretty scary

[Lov3shy]

Sounds terrible; I didn't have this when i had an extraction; but if you worry for your daughter's health if an anaesthetic is required (injected), maybe you could negotiate and ask if things like laughing gas can be used

[shellamanda]

Thank you for your replies, it does sound like he had hit the optic nerve, my poor daughter is dreading going back for the extraction maybe laughing gas might be the answer,

[jno]

many dentists will do sedation which is less than a full anaesthetic - it makes you woozy (so you have to be taken home afterwards) but you remain conscious enough to follow instructions (to open your mouth etc); however you feel no pain and half an hour seems to fly by in 5 minutes. Worth asking for.

[sqad617]

I must assume that the local anaesthetic was for an upper tooth. The orbital nerve would NOT have been involved as it is too far away. It does sound as though infra-orbital never, a smaller nerve, that exits under the lower rim of the eye socket was involved in the local anaesthetic, inadvertently and that would explain all the symptoms. Alarming, upsetting, but does happen occasionally.

[sqad617]

Sorry should have been OPTIC nerve NOT orbital...apologies.

[MrXLA]

It would have most likley been an upper tooth although the same effects could be observed from and infiltration in the lower jaw (although much less likley).
It was most likley the infra-orbital nerve that was affected (this accidental occurence is sometimes used on purpose by maxillofacial surgeons).
The whiteness is a result of 'blanching' due to the vasoconstrictor in the LA (in fact a fairly common effect)
Unlikley to be due to allergy.
NB - to anyone which suggested sedative techniques, v. good, v. helpful, still need LA though!!