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Nerve damage from weird wisdom teeth extraction. Please help me!!!

S

StarBrite310

Junior member
Joined
Feb 15, 2013
Messages
11
This past Thursday I had my wisdom teeth removed... I was supposed to have all 4 removed. Top two were completely in, one on the bottom was half in and half under a very infected gum, and the other one on the bottom has yet to erupt.

When both my dentist and oral surgeon took x-rays, they saw that my nerve was very close to my bottom teeth and that I could maybe suffer a bruised nerve which would knock feeling from my lip and chin for a little while, however, the chance was slim...

So during the surgery, the top two popped out in 5 minutes I was told. No problem. It was when my surgeon went to remove my infected tooth that things got weird. The tooth popped out without any issues whatsoever which was good...it was all infected inside and I really needed it gone so this situation definitely wasn't for nothing. However, when he took it out, he saw something that he had never seen before in all his 24 years of practice. The root was fused with a hole in it! He keeps telling me that he had never seen something like that, which of course makes me feel worse. When he first saw it, he got spooked and decided not to mess with the tooth that hasn't erupted yet, good thinking! Thing is he doesn't know if the nerve was running through the hole, or just extremely close to it. Let me stress that he is claiming that he did not see any root upon removal at all and like I said, it came out with no issues. So the nerve through the hole was only speculation on his part at first, although now he said he doesn't think that may be the case because logistically if you put a ring on a piece of string and the string is connected on both sides, how does the rung come out wouthout cutting the nerve. as I said, tooth came out without even a harsh tug and he said he's never heard of a nerve that soft for that to happen. My dentist for sure doesn't think it went through the hole at all upon re-looking at the x-rays again on Friday. They think the removal probably just bumped the nerve when coming out and it is just very bruised and traumatized.

I am now left with paresthesia on half of my lower lip, half my chin and half my teeth. Both my oral surgeon and dentist are very aware of the situation and feel extremely awful that this happened to me. My OS recommended I see another doctor on Tuesday who specializes more in nerves to check me out and see if I will be okay, so I have that appointment then.

It is now 3 days and I have been crying hysterically since and been so emotionally drained. I keep thinking what if this never goes away and I really don't know how I will be able to handle it. My appetite is totally gone and I have to force any kind of food down. I do have some updates though that I hope mean things will eventually get back to normal.

Good news is that I have been feeling tingling in my lip and certain areas of my chin, itchiness (which is the worst because you can't scratch numbness) and throbbing in my teeth on that side which have also been numb. My lip has been feeling pins and needles and sometimes feels cold...definitely feels as if the nerve is trying to come back to life, not completely dead. Unless it's just my imagine playing tricks on me, I definitely can feel my lip again just a tiny bit and when I put pressure to it and my chin, I feel "something", not a lot but a little. The most uncomfortable part is how stiff and dry the numb area feels though and I am absolutely devastated that this happened to me. All my friends and family keep trying to encourage me that if a nerve was severed, I'd feel nothing. Plus it has only been 3 days so I know I'm probably flipping out over nothing.

Also, when I shower and wash my face, I can ever so slightly feel water splash against my chin and my hands against it, although I wanna stress it's just minor sensation, but more than a couple days ago. My lip I definitely feel more than the chin so when I lick my lips, I feel my tongue on it, and I can feel the toothbrush bristles against my lip a bit.

This is good right? :rolleyes: Do I have reason to have some hope then??

I was hoping anyone here could shed some light on this situation and make me feel better? Perhaps some of you have gone through this and could tell me that the feelings and sensations do come back? Albeit slowly, I've read. I do remember when I had some plastic surgery on my nose and under my chin a few years ago I was numb in certain areas for months, but eventually everything came back full force.

Knowing that I can feel even the slightest little feeling is a good sign...right???

Thank you everyone for your help on this.
 
Yes the fact that you're having some sensation return is a very good thing. The earlier it starts to happen the higher the chances of a full recovery, so it all sounds good.
 
Thank you so much. The area is extremely tight and very uncomfortable though which I don't know what to do for. I will be taking a cat scan this week to find out more info. I hope to fully recover.
 
I hope things get better for you soon :)
 
Try some ice packs to generally reduce the inflammation and help to keep the jaw joint mobile. Frozen peas wrapped in a cloth do nicely.
 
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