What Causes Swelling Around The Mouth Post Dental Procedure?

Posted on Tue, 10 May 2016

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 10 May 2016 Answered on

Fri, 24 Jun 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : My mom had dental procedures with novocaine yesterday . Late last night her face around her mouth swelled and won't go down and she is feeling hot and said her face was red.

Answered by Dr. Honey Arora (33 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Might be due to allergic reaction to Novocine..

Detailed Answer:
Hi..
Welcome to HEALTHCARE MAGIC..

I have gone through your query and can understand your concerns..

As per your complain your mother who is a 72 yeas old diabetic female has a swelling around the mouth with feeling hot and redness of face after dental procedure that was done under local anaesthesia agent Novocaine..

The symptoms are most probably due to allergic reaction to Novocaine as it happened after the injection and dental procedure..

Please answer the following questions so that I can advise you appropriately and more precisely..

1. Which dental procedure has she undergone?
2. Was she ever given Novocaine injection in the past?
3.Do she has any known allergies to any foods or medications or even anything else?
4. Has she ever experienced similar symptoms in the past?
5. Is she also experiencing any pain or numbness or tingling of the lip?
6. Are there any other symptoms present like breathlessness, choking, itching etc along with problem in speaking?

Please revert back with answers..

Hope this information helps..

Thanks and regards.
Dr.Honey Nandwani Arora..

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Honey Arora (28 minutes later)

She is allergic to pennicillin and has had novocaine many times before without any issues. However this time she had 4 fillings. She woke up hot and had a rash around her stomach area and her face was flush. No lip issues but she is sore under her chin and around the sides of her face

Answered by Dr. Honey Arora (6 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Allergic reaction only..

Detailed Answer:
Hi..
Welcome back..

As per your answers, it probably seems to be an allergic reaction only and if she had no past history of allergic reaction to Novocaine, it can be probably due to any Medication given to her post treatment..

It can also be due to allergic reaction to the filling material but chances are very less of having allergy to dental materials..

You need to get the checked by her treating dentist or an Allergist so that the exact cause of the reaction can be ruled out and treated accordingly..

As of now she can however take Benadryl to relieve the symptoms and also do cool compresses over face and stomach..

Any further questions are welcome..

Regards..

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Naveen Kumar