Palatal necrosis: a rare complication of local anesthetic in dentistry

Abstract

Local anesthesia is the most commonly administered drug in a dental practice and is the main means of pain control during a dental treatment. Although uncommon, adverse local and systemic reactions to local anesthetic may occur. Necrosis of the palate secondary to a local anesthetic is considered as a rare complication. It usually appears as an ulcer several days after local anesthetic and is often of a deep, profound nature with punched out margins. Its management is conservative. Although a spontaneous but delayed healing can occur. In this article, we report a case of a palate necrosis secondary to a local anesthetic containing a vasoconstrictor after extraction of impacted maxillary canine.