Anxiety and speech difficulty after extraction; will it get better?

[AdviceAppreciated]

Hello,

1. My speech is different after having my left upper second molar extracted, it's making me anxious/socially anxious; I can speak normally if I put a lot of effort into concentrating on how I speak, but that self-focus makes me anxious too. My partner says that I sound the same, but there are certain words where I feel like I have a bit of a lisp. Should my speech gradually return to normal? Will my tongue learn how to reposition itself without me consciously focusing on how I speak? I work in mental health and have hours of 1 on 1 appointments, talking is a big part of what I do.

2. I'm experiencing a high level of baseline anxiety after the procedure. It came out with no complications, but there was a lot of pressure/pulling of the tooth. It feels like I'm constantly in fight or flight, and I'm wondering if it's the trauma of the procedure, the sense of permanence of having this removed, and/or the anxiety re: speech. Is this normal? Should the anxiety dissipate?

 

[Enarete]

Hi AdviceAppreciated,

may I ask you how long ago the tooth got extracted? And how was the extraction for you besides the pressure - was there anything in particular you found traumatic?

Generally speaking, all of the three reasons you namend in 2 could be - if you are unhappy with your speach or find yourself struggling with thoughts about the permanence, then this sounds like a reason to be more tense than usually.

I think your partner saying you sound the same is a good sign. The mouth is very sensitive and notices the slightest changes, but this should settle gradually. It reminds me of people who wear clear braces - they all talk weirdly for the few days and funny enough they also talk weirdly for the few days after they get them off.

All the best wishes and may you get better soon

 

[AdviceAppreciated]

Hi Enarete,

Thanks for the quick reply.

It was extracted on Thursday, 4 days ago. And, I haven't been talking much, for fear of bumping the socket.

At the time, nothing more than the pressure. A lot of yanking.

I think part of it is, I asked a lot of questions, for weeks, but didn't come across any warning about speech difficulties. Now I'm wondering if I've made the wrong decision and should have opted for root canal (despite my dentist saying they'd get it extracted if in my position/recommended extraction/said I wouldn't miss it).

 

[BoxerMom]

I’ve found that even with asking questions, sometimes doctors don’t tell you about all things that can happen after a procedure, and I don’t really think they’re being dishonest, I think it’s more that everyone reacts or heals differently, and they really only tell you the most common ones. I had septum surgery last year, and the doctor did mention that I would not be able to taste anything for a while. But what he didn’t mention was that my sense of taste would never return to normal. But it can happen, and it did to me. Same for you maybe. Most people do not have any speech changes with one extraction, but perhaps yours is the exception to the rule, and it was a contact point for your tongue when talking. It will get better. I know that you’re trying to not talk much so as to not disturb the socket, but it will help if you practice. I had all mine extracted and it took about a month or so until I was not so self conscious about my speech.

 

[Enarete]

I second @BoxerMom. 4 days is not much, particularly if you haven‘t spoken much. Also, as BoxerMom mentiones, not everyone feels the way you do after extraction.
Again, if your boyfriend hasn‘t noticed any difference to your speach (and your dentist doesn‘t see any difficulties with the missing tooth) then it might be more about your own perception and about the different, currently uncomfortable feeling in your mouth. I am sure this will change in few days once you got used to talking. It might be a good idea to do your best to distract yourself and prevent yourself from overfocusing on that spot for the next days.

Our bodies are fantastic at getting used to new things and blending them out. Did you know that the way our nose is placed in our face, we should be noticing it all the time?