One shot of anesthetic can numb soft tissue in your mouth for three to five hours.
Dentists are trying to ease the inconvenience by using a drug that reverses the effects of anesthetic. After dental work is done under usual anesthetic, dentists give the patients a reversal agent.
"It causes vasodilation, so it makes those blood vessels dilate in the area, and the act of the dilation helps to reverse the affects of the anesthetic," said Dr. Vidya Sankar, director of the Oral Medicine Clinic at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.
In clinical trials with four common dental anesthetics including lidocaine, the reversal agent got patients back to normal in about an hour -- cutting recovery time in half.
"It shortens the length of anesthetic, soft tissue anesthesia, and return to normal function," Dr. Sankar said.
After just 30 minutes...
"I can feel it's already starting to wear off, quicker than it usually would," Trevino said.
She's feeling comfortable and confident, ready to get back to her busy life.
The FDA recently approved the anti-numbing agent for adults and for kids six and over. The treatment is generally not covered by insurance.
