What do they numb you with at the dentist is a question that many people have before undergoing dental procedures. The answer is that dentists use a local anesthetic to numb the area around the tooth that will be worked on. This prevents the patient from feeling pain during the procedure.
Local anesthetics are medications that block the transmission of pain signals from the nerves to the brain. They are injected into the gum tissue around the tooth that will be worked on. The anesthetic will take effect within a few minutes and will last for several hours.