6 Days Post Extraction & Face Still Numb

[scardycat1962]

Hi All.
Lurker here for several weeks. Would have been here sooner if I had known you were here. Long story as to why I am super-scared of the dentist. But today I have a specific question. I had my first ever conscious extraction 6 days ago. So grateful to have an NHS dentist that I didn't ask further questions when treatment plan was drawn up. Anyway one of my front teeth (30 year old root canal, crowned with metal post holding it in) appears to have been snapped off beneath gumline possibly during sedation to remove wisdom tooth about 3 weeks ago. Against my better judgement and being shown scary broken off tooth on X-ray I agreed to have it out CONSCIOUS. Was told it had to come out sooner rather than later and felt I should (wo)man up. It took ages. It was drilled and pulled out. It was not painful but felt really invasive and I was AWAKE. I was crying and shaking when I left the surgery. When I got home I felt pleased I had the courage but completely traumatised by the experience. Anyway here I am 6 days post extraction and one side of my face is still numb (like when the novocaine has almost worn off, but not quite). Can't smile, eat without slurping or talk without lisping. I have been fitted with a plate with false tooth on which if you squint in the dark is acceptable. I can't eat with it in. I appreciate with practice that will hopefully improve. Had planned to have an implant but this has scared me even more. Now I cannot go out for meals, drinks, events or holidays. I feel very down. My face is tingly, my nose feels like it is running all the time. No pain. It is making me feel tired and not able to run my business. I have a check up with the dentist who did the extraction in a week. Not going back there for sure for any implant. Advice please. This numbness is not normal? I have probably had 6-8 adult teeth out and never had this numbness. Thank you for listening. Everyone rolls their eyes. She's only been to the dentist. I've had a week off work already. What a supportive bunch you all are. If you read to the end - thank you for your patience.

 

[drhirst]

Hi @scardycat1962,
Was this an upper or lower tooth? How many teeth back is it from the front tooth?

 

[scardycat1962]

Thank you for responding. It was an upper tooth. Not a central one, but the one next to it. It had previously had the root snipped under another procedure about 15 years ago and I remember some numbness lasting a month or two on my top lip, but not like this. I am a bit worried about the numbness. About half way up the side of my nose it feels tender/numb if I press gently on it. The rest of my face is tingly on that side. If I smile it's lop-sided unless I force my mouth to stretch. I think the wound has/is healing OK. It doesn't hurt.

 

[Gordon]

Tingly is good, it means the nerve is trying to recover.

It sounds like there has been some nerve damage during the surgery, sometimes there's a bit of deep tissue swelling which can block the nerve transmissions. Which will obviously get better when the swelling does down.

Unfortunately it's not likely that much can be done at the moment, just wait for it to recover.

 

[drhirst]

As Gordon says, it sounds like it will gradually recover but could take a few weeks.

 

[scardycat1962]

Thank you for your reassurances. It is feeling better today. I will persevere with my denture and when I see my dentist next week hopefully it will have improved further. I don't think I want to see the same dentist for anything other than a check up. I have been using this dental surgery for over 30 years. Unfortunately my usual dentist had Covid so I ended up having someone else who didn't know me or understand my fears. I am still having flashbacks to the procedure which genuinely traumatised me. My usual dentist usually refers me for sedation but this chap just fobbed off my worries. There is a long wait for NHS sedation (about a year). So I agreed to have it done awake. Thanks again.