Face swelling and loose skin after fillings

[urania_argus]

I had 3 fillings done, two on lower right, one on upper left. I don't tolerate epinephrine well and my teeth are hard to numb. The dentist prescribed Halcyon (which I took 1 hour before the appointment) saying it will relax me and make numbing easier and the non-epinephrine local anesthetic last longer. He gave me 2 shots of local on each side.

Afterwards, I felt slight pain at one of the injection places, no pain anywhere else. The next day, my face was swollen, and I still had just the slight pain from one of the injections. The swelling was just of the skin of my face, not inside my mouth, not on my lips. The skin was squishy to the touch, not inflamed, hot, or red. I called the dentist and he said I may have hematoma and it will go away in a few days. However, I didn't have any discoloration which is typical of hematoma. I have had non-epinephrine injections before with no such reaction, so I don't think I'm allergic.

The swelling went away after a week, along with the slight injection pain. It literally went away overnight. But that left me with loose skin and asymmetry on my face (I'm 34, so at an age when skin elasticity starts to decrease). It has been another week since the swelling went away and the loose skin isn't any better. Part of my left cheek looks deflated compared to the other side of my face and there is a lot of loose skin there.

Will the loose skin return to normal, how long does it take, and how can this be prevented in future dental work? Did the dentist inject the local too quickly or not quite in the right place? Did the local get into the soft tissues of my face and I don't know, displace adipose tissue or something, is that even possible?

[mommyofbhp]

All I can suggest is go back to the dentist who did the work and see what they say. If this dentist can't see you then go to another dentist. Although people with a hematoma will often get a visible bruise, sometimes they don't.  As for the asymmetry in your face, do you have any numbness or droopiness? If so, tell your dentist. As for anesthetic displacing adipose tissue, I don't think this is possible. Anesthetic is absorbed into the blood stream and it leaves the body via the kidneys. I'd definitely go back to the dentist and have them take a look. It wouldn't hurt to try a warm moist compress on the area to see if it helps. Good luck.

[scottma]

Your descriptions suggest air entrapped in soft tissue (emphysema) during dental procedure. Application of rubber dam  may prevent the incidence.