Accidental Intravascular Local Anesthetic Injection of the Facial Artery

Local anesthesia techniques are widely used in dentistry because of their numerous advantages, including safety. Several articles have been published on local and systemic complications stemming from the use of local anesthesia, one of which is accidental intravascular injection, usually reported during inferior alveolar nerve blocks. A 58-year-old man presented to the dental office for extraction of the lower left first molar. During delivery of a supplemental injection in the buccal vestibular mucosa to anesthetize the buccal nerve, an accidental intra-arterial injection to the facial artery occurred, causing sudden sharp pain and immediate pallor along the course of the facial artery. The pallor resolved in approximately 20 minutes. Buccal infiltration was repeated successfully, and the tooth was extracted uneventfully. This case appears to be the first report in the literature to describe the accidental intravascular injection of local anesthetic involving the facial artery and discuss its clinical implications.