Always feel fluey after dental treatment

[grumpygrumps]

I always feel like I'm coming down with flu a few hours after most forms of dental treatment, this is either from a simple filling or root canal. As I predicted - I am now aching all over and feeling shivery after having a temporary put on from a cracked tooth, bearing in mind I went to the dentist feeling a million bucks. Has anyone heard of such phenomenon? Had it for years now.

You could be reacting to the local anaesthetic.

I have to have one without adrenaline as it makes me feel faint and my heart races alarmingly. One dentist told me I was 'imagining things' and was just a nervous patient, but when a new one explained that adrenaline can affect some people in this way, my reactions made sense. (I know you have different symptoms, but it could still be a side effect of the anaesthetic?)

I'd mention it to the dentist next time you go - there may be no need to put up with this, it sounds horrible.

Hi, fortunately it is nothing to do with the local anaesthetic or adrenaline. It is simply a bacteraemia, that is, a shower of germs that are happy nestling around the teeth get into the bloodstream when you have any dental treatment, sometimes even vigorous brushing can do it. The shower of germs circulating in the blood are usually easily mopped up by the body defences but sometimes not quickly enough to avoid them having an effect on the part of the brain looking after vegetative functions, so you get similar symptoms to flu such as hot and cold, aching, faint, tired etc. It is normal and but just that not everybody is affected. It really is not worth starting a wildgoose chase by even mentioning it to your dentist. Try the usual flu remedies until you feel better but expect it most times you go and perhaps cancel if you are already feeling a little off colour.

I'm not a particularly sickly person but could this mean I have a slightly naff immune system alias?
By the way, your theory does makes sense - but I am a bit bewildered why others do not suffer like I do, why me?

All dental patients will get it but most will not realise it. Only in a few is it bad enough to cause symptoms such as you have. Most people will shrug it off and not even remember when they next see the dentist a few months down the line so most dentists will not know how prevalent it is. There could be a number of reasons, perhaps you have gum disease or lowered dental hygiene, perhaps your dental flora is particularly virulent or you are just a bit off colour so you shouldn't assume you have a naff imune system. Naff immune systems actually only occur in seriously ill patients or in MNs.

Incidentally it is not a theory.

Sorry, your theory sounds pretty whacked. The numbing agent is FAR more likely and if you have any form of dysautonomia like POTS, OH, or any other variation, the adrenaline in numbing agents CAN trigger an episode that yes, will feel like flu.

Dealing with it right now. Never heard of the other and it's NEVER been a problem in my life and I've had a ridiculous amount of dental work. It's ONLY since I developed dysautonomia along with perimenopause that it's become an issue. I've been numbed twice now in recent months and had the same reaction both times. (note I've been through BONE GRAFT and not had this reaction.. ONLY with dysautonomia and the adrenaline factor has it been an issue).

I'm the same, if in the past I needed any treatment that required a local anaesthetic, within a minute of the injection my heart would start pounding, then by the time I got home afterwards I would be shivering & aching all over. I used to have to rush home, have the hottest bath I could & have warm pjs on the radiator waiting for when I got out, i then used to have to go to bed for the rest of the day. I told my dentist & now he uses adrenaline free injections. I've found out that it can be linked to ME/CFS & Fibromyalgia, both of which I suffer from. It's not just the dentist, I had a shoulder op that involved a nerve block injection during the operation & was returned from theatre under a survival blanket & heated duvet as I was shivering so much in recovery they could hear my teeth chattering in the corridor.

Both of those answers are actually correct! Anyone with fibromyalgia autonomic nervous Dysregulation disorder, POTS, and other issues associated with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome will have this. There is also a lot of bacteria kept in our mouth that will throw off the rest of us when released in large amounts. Lastly people with MTHFR mutation will get a sick from the drugs and chemicals used in dentistry. The mystery to me is not this or any illness but why people think they have the answer and that there’s only one right answer? Life is not black and white like that! It’s rather complex and people should really understand that and respect one another! Namaste 🙏🏼

Hope nobody minds me waking up an old thread but I was searching the internet because I had a filling a couple of days ago and have been feeling pretty crappy since. I'm not diagnosed with POTs but have POTs-like symptoms and OH and now things make a bit more sense.

Makes sense to me. I am a vocalist and last time I had cleaning, I had a sore throat the following day, then cold symptoms. Same thing this time (6mos later). Bacteria flooding the blood, really makes sense. Is there a way to avoid this next time? Maybe, drink a ton of water-flush the system out immediately after my next cleaning..... I'm going to try.

While I agree numbing agent makes sense. I got flu-y from just a cleaning and no numbing agent, so there may be something to the bacterial shower. After all the reason for dental visits is cleaning the bacteria off teeth, so what happens when we shallow as they are cleaning the teeth?

Sorry again for reviving an old thread, but it's a very niche problem - and yup it's happened to me! I'm a fibro sufferer, but over the years the dentist has never really troubled me. I had a temporary filling last week, and at that time I had a horrific jaw pain after the procedure, really bad. Then yesterday I had the filling upgraded to the permenant one, no jaw pain but today I feel dreadful, really nauseas and generally unwell. So strange!

This totally make sense. I always feel ill after the dentist, even if anaesthesia is not used, such as in a cleaning. Bactereamia makes complete sense.

My nurse friend says it's an inflammatory response to the dentist getting your gums irritated in addition to the germs being activated as others have said.

I had this happen so I needed a bonding on my front tooth and the one next to it. Close to the gum line. Anyhow I did the first tooth and a few days later I felt like a cold chills ...went away the next day.
Fast forward a month later I went to fix the second tooth that needed the binder as well and 3 days later out of nowhere!!! Had high grade fever and chills body aches!!!!! I didn't know if I was sick with the flu or from dental work. I feel like this one there's a spot that she missed and it's kind of hurting.. idk if I'll ever know if I was sick or dental work coincidence? Idk man I do have MCAS pots I did everything without numbing. I take it like a champ I can't even imagine what local anesthesia would do to my body