Strange Symptoms in Child After Fillings Done

[confusedmom2]

Hi, my Son is 8.
He doesn't mind the dentist at ALL. He's had a tooth pulled, and several fillings, and doesn't even flinch, from start to finish, needle to gauzes.

The thing is, after his first time being numbed last year, everything was fine, then several hours later that day, he suddenly said that his "heart was vibrating" and he had a sudden headache, that lasted only a minute or so.
He was also shaking everywhere, like he was cold.
The whole thing lasted only a minute or two. It was very strange, though, and I didn't think anything of it....

Until NEXT time he had a filling done, almost the SAME thing happened to him a little while after leaving the dentist.
That's when I related the two episodes, and thought it was dental related.

I told the dentist about it the next time, and she tried a different numbing medicine (I think it was withOUT the epi, because she said she had to work fast with it.)

He seemed to do much better with that one, but he DID have a really short headache that night.

I have worried about taking him to the dentist, ever since.

Should I take him to an allergist? Would they be able to see what his problem was? Everything I read, says symptoms like that are NOT a true allergy of the locals.
I'm afraid one of these days (especially with the "heart vibrating" thing) he'll have a heart attack or arrythmia or something!
And why do the symptoms happen later, and not while at the dentist?

If anyone has ANY possible clue, or has heard of anything like this, PLEASE, let me know.
I'm very worried.
My Son has his 6 month check up in a week, and has been complaining about a tooth hurting, so I'm sure he'll need to be numbed again.

Thank you so much!

 

[Gordon]

As you say, it doesn't sound like an allergic reaction, nor a response to the local, it's happening a bit too long afterwards.
You'd be best to discuss it with your dentist I think.

Oh and maybe re-evaluate the wee one's diet a wee bit so that he doesn't constantly need dental work done... just a thought.

 

[Zzzdentist]

I wonder whether a medical checkup might be in order. That sounds very unsual to occur in a child. I would be concerned about an underlying disorder that may have been aggravated somehow by the dental anesthetic. Now what that disorder might be I'm not entirely sure. Does your child have any heart murmurs, congenital heart defects, or blood pressure problems?

 

[confusedmom2]

Well....now that I'm totally scared!!!

He did have a murmur at 3 month old, and it only lasted about a month. It was checked out by Children's Hospital, and they said it was "innocent".

Recently, he had prolonged diarhea, drank lots of gatorade, I noticed a fast heart rate, he had an EKG, they said there might have been a prolonged Q-T signal...again, checked at Children's Hospital with another EKG, they said he was fine, compared his 3 month EKG, too. Said he was fine.

He DOES have headaches, which seemed to have started around the same time he started dental visits, which he's been to the neurologist, and had a head CT Scan done. Everything there turned out normal, also.
Sometimes, his headache will make him feel sick for the rest of the day, and vomit...till he sleeps, then is fine the next day. (migraines?)

He is very active kid, (probably has A.D.H.D.) and nice and slim, so he's not out of shape. My Husband and I have no blood pressure/heart problems, either.

I just don't know WHO to go to about this...I wish someone had heard of something similar!

Isn't there SOOOO little bit of anesthetic in the numbing needle, that it would dissipate and not even affect the body?

We can't afford to keep going to more and more doctors, and have more and more tests. Not to mention the emotional cost of all that...just the tests listed above, nearly killed me, as a Mom!!
I don't know where to turn, or what to look up, for answers.

My plan is to go through the dentist appointment, and keep a close eye on him for anything strange afterwards, if he gets numbed.

Thank you so much for your response.....and anything else, or other ideas you may have!!??!!

 

[Zzzdentist]

Sorry, my intention is not to freak anyone out here as it's a site intended to help dental fears. I'm just concerned to hear that happening in a young person. I'm no pediatrician so I really can't take a good guess at what could be going on. There are some people who have pathologic heart murmurs which require antibiotic prophylactic coverage before dental treatment, but if your son has an innocent murmur, that means that it shouldn't be a problem.

Some people are allergic to preservatives in anesthetics with epinephrine or to the anesthetic itself. Is your son taking any medications? Does he have any allergies? You can do a Google search for local anesthetic allergies to find out some basic information. One idea would be to consult a pediatrician to see whether an allergy test might be in order.

 

[annie778]

confusedmom, migraines are also associated with heart murmurs and you might want to review your son's diet too to make sure he doesn't have any stimulants such as fizzy drinks which contain caffeine (colas), too much sugar etc It doesn't sound like an allergic reaction. Not because it was delayed (that can and does happen in an allergy - I am proof!), but because none of the symptoms you describe sound like typical allergy symptoms. Severe allergic reactions manifest themselves with a swelling of tissues as the body tries to fight the allergen, itchy whole body rash, breathing difficulties (as result of swelling), dry throat, sometimes abdominal pain. If he hasn't had even a local reaction in the area of the injection I very much doubt it's an allergy.

I have "trivial" regurgitation (diagnosed age 6 and told nothing to worry about....hmph). I'm very sensitive to certain meds and certain foods. I recently had a bad incident of taking a natural supplement which led to palpitations and chest pain. I've since cut out caffeine completely and that's really helped. Some people with palps can't tolerate any sugar or additives. Unfortunately additives that affect your heart are in many common processed foods. As a guide E numbers are the usual suspects. However, many manufacturers have removed E numbers from their ingredients list and simply use the name of the additive instead to try to dupe people into buying (grrr). Cutting out sugar and fizzy drinks will also mean your son's teeth a healthier so he should not need the dentist so much. If it were me as a precaution I would schedule him for hygienist appointments regularly after any further treatment. The potential ADHD might also be an indication of too much sugar and stimulants in his diet. It does no harm to try a dietary route.

By the way arrowroot is a really good natural cure for diarrhoea. It is traditionally used for cooking as a sauce thickener, but if you just heat some up with water in a saucepan it creates a sort of sticky goo that when eaten almost immediately brings digestion back to normal. Apparently it's used to treat wounds too. Great stuff and not likely to cause any reactions.

If I were you I would try not to worry about all this. I'm sure he will be fine and that he will grow out of this.

 

[letsconnect]

Cutting out sugar and fizzy drinks will also mean your son's teeth a healthier so he should not need the dentist so much.

Agree totally with Annie on this . You sound like you care a lot about your son's health, and this is one step you could take which would really help him.

 

[Deleted member 34]

not to mention hyper kids drive parents insane............ fizzy drinks= locked in understairs cupboard in my house hahahahaha im kidding ....or am i? lol

 

[confusedmom2]

Well, my Son goes to the Dr. every year, and whenever needed in between, and no one has said anything about a murmur, so hopefully that's not it.

Oh, and I HATE soda!! I see NO reason for its exsistence, so my kids only get it when they're at a party or there's no other choice. I don't even keep any at home. But, they do have a steady candy supply, which lasts holiday to holiday...but I do limit that, too. And no tea, or other caffeine drinks, either.
Milk, water, 100% juices, and yes, sugary juices, too. (gotta let them be kids a little bit!)

Anyway.....I was wondering, Zzzdentist, you say you're concerned to hear that happening in a young person...is it something you HAVE heard of? Is it something that happens in older people??
I'm just looking for any clues.

Right now, my plan is to just go through the appointment, and see what happens, hopefully nothing. But I'd hate to have something happen, and know that I could have prevented it...
I'm just very nervous.

Oh, and my Son doesn't have any other allergies that I know of. Except maybe seasonal ones. But that's hard to tell.

What symptoms do people get, who need antibiotics before appointments?
I've heard of that before, but didn't know the details.

I really appreciate everyone's ideas and input. I really do.
It can never be something easy and common, it seems. It's always something totally strange, that no one knows WHAT'S going on! How frustrating!

Thank you again!!

 

[Zzzdentist]

I've never actually run into a child who experienced the problems your son has encountered after dental work so that's why I found it alarming to hear about that. I have heard some reports from patients that they experience headaches and nausea hours after dental work, but they usually mention this before treatment so we usually try different anesthetics.

Here's [broken link removed] some information about bacterial endocarditis and some of its risk factors. Your child's doctor would have advised you about any problems and any need for antibiotics before dental treatment.

You haven't mentioned any medications that your son is taking. I wonder whether there might be some sort of pharmacological interaction occuring between the local anesthetic and medications taken.

Dexidrine

Use
Narcolepsy; attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Dental Health: Effects on Dental Treatment
Key adverse event(s) related to dental treatment: Xerostomia (normal salivary flow resumes upon discontinuation). Up to 10% of patients taking dextroamphetamines may present with hypertension. The use of local anesthetic without vasoconstrictor is recommended in these patients.

Dental Health: Vasoconstrictor/Local Anesthetic Precautions
Use vasoconstrictor with caution in patients taking dextroamphetamine. Amphetamines enhance the sympathomimetic response of epinephrine and norepinephrine leading to potential hypertension and cardiotoxicity.

 

[confusedmom2]

Nope, my Son doesn't take any medicines, either.
(you see why I'm so stumped!!)

I wonder if I asked the dentist a few days before the appointment, if she could ask around, any doctors or other dentists she might know, about it.

I'm just hoping it doesn't happen this time. It's all I can do, at this point, it seems! That, and using the numbing medicine that produced the least symptoms.

I was wondering today, if perhaps the symptoms could be happening at the moment the numbness wears off? Though he never complained of any pain...

Well, I feel like I'm bothering you at this point...I guess no one has ever heard of something like this.
It worries me, though, what if something happens and he has to have surgery at some point, with anesthesia?
Maybe I should make that allergist appointment. It's something, at least.
It just doesn't seem like allergy symptoms.

Anyway, I'll stop bugging you all, but if anyone has any ideas, I'll still be checking this post, just in case!

I really do thank you for your help, everyone!

 

[Zzzdentist]

No bother at all. I wish I could find a solution to this puzzling problem. Here's some reading about anesthetic allergies and toxicity that you can look over.

[broken link removed]

 

[confusedmom2]

Woooo hooooooo! My Son's dentist appointment was yesterday, and he had NO cavities!! (well, he had two spots that he needs to floss and brush extra. The dentist said if he pays attention to them, they might reverse themselves and NOT turn into full cavities. (is that possible?? Seems strange, but I'll take it!)

So I'm VERY relieved that he doesn't have to have any numbing medicines, for now.

But, I'm reading over the links and info given above, because I'm sure at some point he might need cavities filled.

Thank you ALL for your help and thoughts on this.
I guess this gives me time to possibly try an allergist, read more info, and hope that he's outgrowing whatEVER these strange symptoms are, as time goes by!

I'll be checking back, just in case, but thank you again everyone!

 

[kencan98]

Sounds like it might be a panic attack...Maybe?