---
title: "What Is Lidocaine? Dental Glossary | Town Center Dental"
description: "Lidocaine is a widely used numbing medicine that blocks nerve signals, and dentists use it as a local anesthetic in injections and sometimes in gels or sprays."
url: https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/glossary/lidocaine
publisher: Town Center Dental
phone: +1-636-273-5866
quote: https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/request-appointment
---

Sedation and Anesthesia

# Lidocaine

Lidocaine is a widely used numbing medicine that blocks nerve signals, and dentists use it as a local anesthetic in injections and sometimes in gels or sprays.

Lidocaine is an anesthetic medicine. In dentistry it is most often injected near a tooth to numb the area, often mixed with [epinephrine](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/glossary/epinephrine-in-dental-anesthetic), which helps the numbness last longer. Numbness fades after a while. MedlinePlus says lidocaine viscous mouth rinse is used to relieve pain of inflammation or sores of the mouth or throat, and warns not to use it to treat teething pain. Tell your dentist about any allergies and about all your medicines before treatment. Be careful not to bite your cheek, lip, or tongue while you are numb. See [local anesthetic](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/glossary/local-anesthetic), [topical anesthetic](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/glossary/topical-anesthetic), and numbing.

## Related terms

-   [Local anesthetic](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/glossary/local-anesthetic)
-   [Topical anesthetic](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/glossary/topical-anesthetic)
-   [Epinephrine in dental anesthetic](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/glossary/epinephrine-in-dental-anesthetic)
-   [Numbing (dental numbness)](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/glossary/numbing-dental-numbness)
-   [Articaine](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/glossary/articaine)

## Sources

1.  [MedlinePlus: Lidocaine Viscous Oral Rinse](https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a682701.html)

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