A mother asks how the prolonged soft-tissue numbness her children experience after dental injections can be shortened. All of the following are appropriate measures EXCEPT:

Correct answer: D. Administering naloxone to reverse the anesthetic

• A. Choosing a short-acting agent, or omitting the vasoconstrictor where hemostasis and duration permit, directly shortens the numb period — a rational preventive measure in children.
• B. An INFILTRATION anesthetises a far smaller field than an inferior alveolar block and avoids numbing the entire lip and tongue, substantially reducing the risk of self-inflicted lip and cheek biting.
• C. PHENTOLAMINE MESYLATE (OraVerse) is the correct reversal agent. It is an alpha-adrenergic blocker that produces local vasodilation, accelerating redistribution of the anesthetic away from the injection site. It is FDA-approved down to age 3 and roughly halves the time to normal lip sensation.
• D. CORRECT — this is the EXCEPTION. NALOXONE is a pure opioid antagonist. It reverses opioid-induced respiratory depression and has absolutely no effect on amide or ester local anesthetics. Giving it here would be pharmacologically meaningless.

Note: Soft-tissue self-injury after an IAN block is a real paediatric hazard, most frequent in children under 4. Non-pharmacological prevention still matters: cotton rolls, warning stickers, and explicit instructions to the caregiver to watch the child during the numb period.