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Dental Anesthesia

Beta Blockers and Anesthesia

07/30/2009

Question:

can you have a local anesthetic for dental work while on metoprolol?

Answer:

Yes. It is important to take your medication as you regularly would in the morning (and evening) as you have been prescribed by your physician.

You may have heard that there may be an interaction with beta blockers and the epinephrine added to local anesthetic solutions to increase effectiveness and duration of activity. This is true but only for non-selective beta blockers (yours is a cardio-selective agent). If you are taking metoprolol for a heart rhythm condition, rather than for hypertension, or your blood pressure is not well-controlled or for other reasons, your dentist may still want to limit epinephrine in local anesthetic solution. In addition, your dentist will likely check your vital signs to make sure you are doing fine.

For more information:

Go to the Dental Anesthesia health topic, where you can:

Response by:

Steven I Ganzberg, SB, DMD, MS Steven I Ganzberg, SB, DMD, MS
Former Clinical Professor of Dentistry
College of Dentistry
The Ohio State University