Dental Treatment

Danilo,

I commend you for coming to this forum to research the issue for your patient. I wish every heath care practictioner was so diligent.

I also wish I could be more specific, but I recall an article by a dental surgeon regarding research about Lidocaine and Gillian Barre Syndrome. I believe the conclusion was that with some patients that Lidocaine can cause GBS by breaching the blood/brain barrier.

Perhaps some of our more senior members will recall the article from the old forum. Gene, do you recall the reference about this one?

Hi Danilo. Over the past 3 years since my diagnosis with CIDP I have had several extractions, an implant and a root canal. I recieved Novacaine for numbing and a prophylactic antibiotic prior to each visit. I had no problems at all. I hope that helps.

Jerimy

Jerimy

What is a prophylactic antibiotic? Did you get it before you went in to the dentist?
I also had a root canl, but had it done without any kind of pain or numbing medication at all because I was too freaked about about deadening my nerves or antyhing like that.

Everytime I have work done at the dentist it is done without pain medication……..and yes it hurts like helll

anyway, so you think it’s not a problem for novacaine and all that stuff to mess with your nerves?

Hello,
Seeing this post made me remember that I had teeth extractions, with novacaine while I was still in a progressive stage with CIDP, the chronic form of GBS. I had no problem and I don’t remember whether I took a pain medication.

Ok, first of all I want to say………………”I am scared of you”, Pep!!🙂
Dental work and no anesthetic???? WOW!!!!!
And, ditto to what Jer said about the novacaine. I have had teeth repair work done (with lidocaine, mind you) . and no problems, so go for it…..

Pep, you are the first person I ever heard of getting dental work without a pain killer………….you are tooooo tough. 😀

Perry

suzanne,

this link will lead one to one thread from the old forum about lidocaine. below the link is a post from cg from that thread.

[url]http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:9XQ15OgGRuwJ:www.guillain-barre.com/forums//showthread.php%3Fs%3D76d62f178622b04eec64f642aaa8f12a%26goto%3Dlastpost%26forumid%3D2+%22guillain+barre+syndrome+foundation+discussion+forums%22+%2Blidocaine&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1&client=firefox-a[/url]

Hi Jim,
There have been other threads here re/Lidocaine and the believed contraindication for persons with GBS or MS. I think if you put “lidocaine” into the search field you should get some postings, especially I think some Jethro has posted re/lidocaine.

In the meantime here is some info for thought: excerpt taken from:

” Anesthesiology: Volume 97(1) July 2002 pp 257-258
Nerve Root Inflammation Demonstrated by Magnetic Resonance Imaging in a Patient with Transient Neurologic Symptoms after Intrathecal Injection of Lidocaine
Avidan, Alexander M.D.*; Gomori, Moshe M.D.†; Davidson, Elyad M.D.‡”

“This supports the hypothesis that lidocaine has a neurotoxic effect , although other mechanisms, such as local anesthetics maldistribution, myofascial pain, and surgical positioning, have been proposed. 5-9 The mechanism of this postulated lidocaine toxicity is unknown. An ischemic effect of lidocaine on the spinal cord was ruled out. 10 The result of the MRI in this case showing enhancement of the cauda equina and the lumbosacral nerve roots may support the theory of a direct toxic effect of lidocaine. The MRI findings are suggestive of pial hyperemia or breakdown of the nerve root -blood barrier by a noninfectious inflammatory process .
A similar picture can be found in patients with Guillain-Barré and Krabbe (demyelinating disorder]syndromes. 11-13 In Guillain-Barré syndrome, the degree of enhancement correlates well with the severity of the disease.”

“The enhancement of the cauda equine roots indicates breakdown of the blood-nerve barrier. In the present case, it suggests a chemical irritation due to intrathecal anesthetic. This breakdown may be the cause of the neurologic deficit or just another effect of the intrathecal anesthetic. Until now, no studies were performed to investigate findings in MRI in patients after spinal anesthesia with and without neurologic symptoms. It is therefore impossible to conclude definitely from this case that the findings in the MRI prove direct toxic effect of lidocaine. However, in regard to similar MRI findings in other neurologic disorders, it is suggestive that toxic effects of lidocaine are the cause of the transient neurologic syndrome.”
See the full text via the link below:

[url]http://www.anesthesiology.org/pt/re…LC4vpzcuT31sKaQ!-431612848!-949856032!9001!-1[/url]

best wishes,
cg

take care. be well.
gene gbs 8-99
in numbers there is strength

Google scholar is a good source for abstracts and some full articles. Here is the link:

[url]http://scholar.google.com/[/url]

Pep,

It just means a preventitive antibiotic taken prior to having the dental work done. Hope that helps.

Jer

Hi,

I just posted in other area because I’m wondering if my GBS is back because I was on an antibiotic called “Keflex” to clear up a tooth infection before my root canal. It seemed that my neuropathy has gotten worse since being on the antibiotic and perhaps having novacaine for the root canal. I did have bridge work about 8 months ago but can’t remember if I had novacaine. Well thanks.

Caroline