ᐈ Bruise after tooth anesthesia: causes of occurrence, why it is dangerous, how to treat

Possible reasons for the appearance of a lump on the gum after tooth anesthesia

Since the doctor makes the injection blindly, there is a risk of hitting a blood vessel. This explains why a bruise appears on the cheek or gum. In many cases it is considered the norm. Hematoma may also occur while taking certain medications that affect the blood's ability to clot. This could be, for example, Heparin, Aspirin, and many NSAIDs. A number of factors contribute to the appearance of a lump after the administration of an anesthetic:

drinking alcoholic beverages before visiting the dental office;
high blood pressure - hypertension;
consuming too hot food or drinks shortly after dental treatment.

Swelling near the injection site is not considered a deviation from the norm. Often such manifestations are subjective in nature - a person may feel severe tissue swelling, although in fact the swelling is insignificant. But in some cases, these signs can lead to complications, so it is necessary to understand when the pathological process develops.

Treatment of hematoma

If a hematoma of dental origin occurs, self-medication is not allowed. It is prohibited to heat, rinse and other folk remedies. This can lead to serious complications that will require surgery to correct. With treatment prescribed by a doctor, using prescribed medications, the hematoma disappears after 3-4 days.

Hematoma of traumatic origin (subcutaneous hematoma) . Treatment is conservative - cooling the damaged area, applying a compress to narrow the lumen of blood vessels, using analgesics and physiotherapeutic procedures.

Extensive hematoma. Treatment is carried out using puncture and applying a pressure bandage. If repeated bleeding occurs, the hematoma is opened, the bleeding vessel is ligated, or a vascular suture is applied. If the hematoma suppurates, it is immediately opened and drained.

Why does pain occur after an injection into the gum?

Since the needle is inserted into soft tissues, it injures them and provokes discomfort. The patient may feel pain at the injection site for 1-2 days, or even more. The duration of the recovery period depends on the characteristics of the body and the perception of stimuli at the neuropsychic level.

Overly sensitive patients should be prepared for aching pain. Most often, no action is required. Usually the pain subsides on its own. In the case when it does not go away and only gets worse over time, we can talk about the development of a complication. At the same time, other signs of disturbances may occur.

Sometimes the patient thinks that the injection site hurts, but the localization is in a different place. So, after caries treatment, you may feel aching pain that radiates to the gums. Removal of a wisdom tooth is accompanied by pain in the socket, while the patient thinks that the problem is localized at the injection site.

Why does a tooth hurt after filling?

The filling that the doctor places on the treated tooth should exclude the possibility of disease. If you feel pain after filling, the reason may be:

The body's natural reaction to outside interference. Even after proper treatment, such a phenomenon may occur, which is periodic in nature. The pain in this case does not increase or become too severe; it can last from 2 weeks to 2 months.
Caries is not completely cured. The tooth tissues become inflamed, and the tooth hurts after filling with aching pain. In this case, it is necessary to contact the dentist again to prevent further complications - inflammation can affect the dental nerve (pulpitis develops).
Chronic or developing pulpitis that was not identified during the diagnostic process before the start of treatment.
Incomplete treatment of tissues affected by inflammation during periodontitis. Treatment of periodontitis is not limited to one day, it is quite complex.
If the filling is installed incorrectly (either at an insufficient level, or is large and puts pressure on other teeth or gums). Often a tooth hurts after root canal filling for this very reason. Damage to the filling can occur due to insufficiently high quality filling material or failure to comply with the recommendations of the dentist.
Slight pain may be felt due to tissue injury during the process of tooth filling. It will take some time for healing to occur.
The sensitivity of teeth after filling always increases significantly, and discomfort, manifested in painful sensations, can be the result of insufficiently correct implementation of one of the treatment procedures - drying the inner dental walls (over-drying or under-drying). If the walls of the tooth are not completely dry when installing the filling, it does not adhere well in damp places, which leads to the development of inflammation and pain.
Allergic reaction to the filling material.

It is much easier to identify pathologies after dental treatment if all the dentist’s advice and oral hygiene rules are followed.

Attention! Dentists recommend that their patients have a small snack before going to the dental office, so that due to the lack of glucose that occurs during treatment, fear and the vasoconstrictive effect of the drugs, they do not experience a semi-fainting state during the treatment.

How long after filling should I abstain from eating?

Modern fillings contain epoxy resin, which ensures that the new filling quickly hardens into the desired shape. Light-polymer fillings harden almost instantly, while those made from chemical materials take no more than an hour. Therefore, after filling a tooth, you can eat food immediately.

When installing a temporary filling, a longer period of time abstaining from eating is required - at least 2 hours.

Complications after injection of anesthetic into the gums

Depending on the amount of blood released from the vessel and the individual characteristics of the body, it often takes 4 to 10 days for a bruise on the gum to disappear. Otherwise, this is already a complication.

Type of complication	Features of manifestation	Symptoms
Accession of infection	There are always millions of bacteria in your mouth. In a normal state, they are in a certain balance, but under favorable conditions, for example, when immunity decreases, they can be activated. Thus, clotted blood becomes a nutrient medium for them. Pathogens begin to multiply. Pathogenic microorganisms can spread to periodontal tissue, the alveolar process that holds the tooth, periosteum and bone. Much depends on the type of pathogen and the location of the bruise.	Tissue infection is accompanied by the following symptoms: · painful sensations; · temperature increase – up to 39 ˚С; · weakness; Read also: Dangerous triangle. Why is the nasolabial area very sensitive? · headache; Redness of the gum tissue.
Damage to the nerve trunk	If the doctor acts incorrectly, nerve fibers may be damaged as a result of the administration of anesthesia. In this case, it is important to contact a neurologist and maxillofacial surgeon as quickly as possible.	The patient feels a sharp pain immediately when the injection is given. It will subside for the duration of the anesthetic, but then resume again. It cannot be stopped even with the help of painkillers. If a large nerve trunk is affected, pain will be felt throughout the entire mouth, cheek and ear. It is even possible to turn off the chewing function and numbness of the face. Sometimes it is difficult to open your mouth completely; one side may sag.
Tissue necrosis	A very dangerous complication. The reason for its development may be the patient’s ailment, which he was silent about, vasospasm, too much anesthetic or its rapid administration.	The patient first feels a sharp, growing pain. It subsides for a short time, but this does not indicate that the danger has passed. The pain disappears due to tissue death.

Complications after tooth extraction often occur due to the penetration of bacteria through the hole into various tissues of the dentofacial apparatus. Pus accumulates.

When to see a doctor

Complications after implantation normally last 5-7 days. An alarming signal should be the persistence of unpleasant symptoms longer than this period. In this case, there is no need to postpone going to the doctor. Timely treatment will help avoid serious consequences.

You need to contact a specialist when you have:

undiminished or growing swelling (normally, a decrease in the severity of edema, hematomas occur in the first days after implantation);
acute, pulsating pain at the site of swelling;
persistence of low-grade fever for 3 days, its increase;
loss of sensitivity, numbness;
the appearance of bad breath.

Opinion of an implant surgeon : “Although serious complications as a result of implantation do not occur often, the patient should carefully monitor his well-being. You can prevent the development of unpleasant consequences by timely and competently assessing the scale of the problem. If there is no positive dynamics, you should contact your dentist.”

Reason to see a doctor

The following symptoms require a visit to the dental office:

severe pain at the injection site and its increase;
significant swelling of the gums that remains after the anesthesia wears off;
purulent or sanguineous discharge from gum tissue;
temperature increase;
compaction (“petrification”) of gum tissue in the affected area;
looseness of the gums under the tooth, which was amenable to treatment, their slight displacement when exposed.

During the examination, the doctor will determine the cause of the development of undesirable effects.

Causes

Each patient's response to pain relief is different. It depends on the condition of the oral cavity, the level of vulnerability and age. The appearance of severe pain indicates the development of complications. In such a situation, the dentist must find out the cause of the problem. A private dental clinic is exactly the institution where modern diagnostic methods, the latest equipment, and advanced therapy technologies are used. Common triggers include:

Development of inflammatory processes;
Suppuration in the tooth root;
Formation of a fistula or abscess;

According to indications, a minor surgical intervention is performed. During such procedures, nerve fibers may be affected. It happens that incision of mucous tissues is required. The main causes of the problem are:

Development of an infectious focus

If your gums hurt after an anesthetic injection, it can be assumed that the soft tissues are infected. After all, the oral cavity always contains many microbes and bacteria, both beneficial and opportunistic. When performing an injection, they quickly penetrate into the puncture sites, thereby provoking inflammation. As a result, exudate accumulates in the affected areas and flux may develop. Patients complain of edema, swelling of soft tissues, burning and throbbing pain of the mucous layer.

Nerve trunk injury

The problem often arises when the masticatory organs are injured. Even an experienced dentist can accidentally hit very sensitive fibers of nerve endings with a sharp thin needle. This disrupts their work. After all, the nerves of the oral cavity are closely connected with the facial muscles and the muscular system of the eyelids. Therefore, the cheek hurts after an anesthetic injection during dental treatment. Discomfort is felt in the ear, temple. The patient may experience voluntary lacrimation. In addition, others notice the asymmetry of the face on the side of the inflamed area. The pain may be jerky. Its duration ranges from several days to several weeks.

Hematoma formation

It is important to carefully monitor the health of the oral cavity and chewing organs. Timely consultation with a doctor will help prevent complications. The sooner you contact a dentist, the easier and faster the therapy will be; it is possible to treat caries without drilling teeth. Therefore, preventive examinations should not be skipped. Visiting the doctor once every six months is the key to a healthy oral cavity.

If you violate the schedule of preventive examinations or ignore the doctor’s recommendations, bruises often appear on the affected areas. In such areas, the accumulation of blood is limited, as blood vessels rupture. The resulting cavities contain liquid blood, as well as coagulated blood cells. Hematomas in the oral cavity form quickly, because the periodontium is penetrated by an extensive network of blood vessels. Small capillaries nourish the gum tissue and tooth roots. It is through them that complete nutrition is delivered. When the vessels are damaged during injection, some blood accumulates under the mucous layer. This results in the formation of a convex dark lump or spot. Sometimes the patient does not feel the lump until complications arise, requiring thorough cleaning.

Necrotization of soft gum tissue

It happens that a tooth hurts after anesthesia for serious reasons. The provoking factor may be the death of mucosal tissue. The patient should be alerted to swelling, whitish or dark spots. Often causes necrosis:

Rapid injection of an anesthetic substance, which damages the vessels, as they are compressed;
High portions of the drug contain a substance such as adrenaline, which promotes spasms;
Poor blood circulation in chronic diseases and diabetes;
Rejection of the mucous membrane from the bone tissue;