Help! Lingual Nerve Damage from Wisdom Tooth Extraction

[vegemamato]

After having my lower left wisdom tooth pulled nearly a month ago I noticed some lingering numbeness in my tongue. The numbness is now accompanied with a burning/tingling/needles sensation, especially when I'm eating or talking. I was thinking, until a few days ago, that this could just be part of the recovery process but now that it's not going away I'm getting pretty worried. I can't even taste with the right side of my tongue any more

Have you, or anyone you know, dealt with this? I talked with a law receptionist this morning who told me the names of three oral surgeons that I should consult, for treatment options and to start a record of the pain.. (not that I'm sue-happy, I just want to be rightfully compensated if this is, in fact, due to negligence, you know?).

Any luck with nerve damage being temporary?

Please? (I would much rather have my tongue back than the- slim possibility- of money..)

[FluffiB]

Hi. Sorry I didn't see this sooner. Someone had a similar experience in one of my yahoo groups, and she said acupuncture helped a lot.

You could try homeopathic treatments too. Have you seen a naturopath?

[dds07]

numbness is not common, but it does happen and is always a risk with any procedures. not likely to be negligence, but an inherent risk of the procedure. it typically goes away within a month, sometimes can last up to 6 months and can rarely be permanent. if it has actually changed, that is a good sign and probably means it is healing. definitely keep a record of how it changes and continue to see the surgeon who took out the tooth...good luck!