At least, that's what it felt like, when the dentist numbed half of my mouth. I had a heavy-duty procedure done with my teeth recently. The dentist recommended that I do this procedure, where they needed to get down deep inside my teeth, underneath the gumline. And in order for that to happen, and not hurt, they needed to administer local anesthesia. I also had to do multiple visits, as obviously, it would not be a good idea to numb the whole mouth in one sitting.
Anyway, I did it, and it felt good afterwards. It was a treatment that is not done regularly, and since it's also curative, my insurance covered it completely. I just had to have a numb side of the mouth for two separate days, and I have to say, it's a weird feeling to have a numb mouth.
I tried gargling, and so man, I failed miserably that the water went not to the basin but to the floor. I also had to watch that my mouth and lips were closed, as I did not have any sensation whatsoever during the couple of hours that I was numb. It was also kind of funny talking, as I couldn't produce sounds involving rounded lips, like [ow] or [oy], correctly.
I suppose there's a first time for everything. And it's a first time for me to require an anesthetic in the dental clinic. On my second visit (to have the second half done), my dentist already told me that the first half definitely showed signs of improvement, compared to the second half. Let's hope that I don't need this procedure done again for the next decade or so.
