Symptoms of nerve damage after wisdom tooth extraction

A. Can Wisdom Tooth Removal Cause Nerve Damage?

Wisdom teeth: used to be a necessary and practical set of teeth for chewing hard foods such as grains, rough plants and meat. However, with our modern diet today, they have become more of a nuisance than anything. Extraction of wisdom teeth is an elective procedure, but extremely common. Most people have their wisdom teeth removed at some point for a variety of reasons. Some people have teeth that do not protrude above the gum line, causing several problems. Others deteriorate because they are difficult to clean and inconvenient to fill. Other patients have their wisdom teeth removed proactively to avoid problems later in life. Whatever the reason, most people are interested in removing wisdom teeth at some point, but are understandably concerned about the discomfort and potential complications involved. A common fear is that extraction of the wisdom tooth will cause nerve damage. However, is this a legitimate fear?

1. A rare but possible complication

Nerve damage is a rare but possible complication of wisdom tooth extraction. It causes numbness, tingling or other changes in sensation in areas controlled by the damaged nerve. Nerve damage is often discussed in the extraction of wisdom teeth, but it rarely occurs. The trigeminal nerve and the lower alveolar nerve may be injured or damaged during the procedure. These nerves control the sensation in the tongue, lower lip and chin. Although nerve damage is a possibility, it rarely occurs during a routine wisdom tooth extraction. The nerves are damaged by bruises or cuts during the procedure. This can be minimized by selecting an experienced surgeon who is able to reduce complications.

2. Age is important

There is a reason why wisdom tooth extraction is so common in adolescents and young adults: the risk of complications is much lower in younger patients. At 25, the teeth are fully formed and the roots are longer. This makes it more difficult to pull teeth and increases the risk of complications, such as nerve damage.

3. Are nerve damages permanent?

The good news is that nerve damage after wisdom tooth extraction is not always permanent. Sometimes, an injured nerve has the ability to recover on its own with time and patience. In other cases, the nerve is irreparably damaged and the sensation is unlikely to return. Any nerves that recover from the sensation usually begin within a month or more after the procedure.

4. All surgery is risk

The end result is that every surgery carries some risk. However, some procedures are safer than others, and wisdom tooth extraction is a routine procedure with relatively few risks. Although nerve damage is possible, it is unlikely to occur, especially when compared to other possible complications, such as: This is good news, as the dry outlet is easy to handle and must dissolve relatively quickly.

5. Do you need to do dental wisdom extractions?

In the end, it is up to you and your dentist to determine the relative risks of extracting wisdom teeth versus the risks of leaving your teeth behind. If your wisdom teeth are affected, you may not have a real choice: these teeth almost always need to come out and usually cause a lot of pain, swelling and other problems. However, if you choose wisdom tooth extraction as a preventative measure, you will need to weigh the pros and cons of the surgical intervention now and later.

B. Can Removing My Wisdom Teeth Cause Nerve Damage?

Although wisdom teeth removal is common today, these extra teeth were essential during the Stone Age. According to anthropologists, the diet of our ancestors was extremely hard on the teeth, which caused them to wear out very quickly. This third set of molars appeared later in life to help chew hard meat and nuts, as well as the thick roots, leaves and grains that made up their diet.

1. When do wisdom teeth usually emerge?

Although all other teeth are formed at birth, third molars do not begin to form until 10 years of age. The rupture of wisdom teeth can occur at any time between the ages of 17 and 25 years. However, complications sometimes arise and the third molars never erupt. This lack of rash is commonly referred to as “impaction”.

2. Why are these teeth removed?

If an impaction occurs, the affected tooth must be surgically removed. Even though these molars explode properly because of their location in the back of the mouth, many people have a hard time keeping them clean. The inability to remove the plaque sufficiently before it hardens into tartar (ie tartar) leads to its decomposition. As filling the third molars is impractical, removal is the only possible solution. Some people have their wisdom teeth removed, even if they have no problem: patients make this choice to ensure that future problems do not occur.

3. Do most people have wisdom teeth removed?

Yes, at some point most people think about removing wisdom teeth. However, some people are concerned about the discomfort associated with this procedure, as well as the possible complications that can arise.

One of the most common concerns people have about Dr. As William P. Lamas and his co-workers say, there is a concern that removing wisdom teeth will result in nerve damage. But is this really a legitimate concern?

4. Nerve damage: a rare complication

Nerve damage, while rare, is a potential complication of wisdom tooth removal. When nerve damage occurs, the patient may experience tingling, numbness, or other sensations in the areas controlled by the damaged nerve. Although nerve damage is often discussed before wisdom tooth extraction, this complication is extremely rare.

5. Which nerves would be affected?

The lower alveolar nerve and the trigeminal nerve are the two nerves that can be damaged or injured during wisdom tooth extraction. These nerves are responsible for controlling the sensations of the lower lip, tongue and chin. Nerve damage occurs if they are cut or injured during the procedure. Choosing a skilled surgeon to remove wisdom teeth will reduce the chances of complications.

6. If a nerve is damaged, is it permanent?

If the nerve is injured during the procedure like any other hematoma, it will eventually heal. However, once a nerve is cut, it cannot be repaired and cannot heal naturally. Therefore, most likely, the lost sensation will never return. Most of the time, the nerves that will recover will begin to regain sensation within a month after the procedure.

a. Age matters

Extractions of wisdom teeth usually occur before a person turns 25. Removal is recommended before age 25. Otherwise, these molars will have time to form, which means they will have longer roots. Longer roots make pulling the molar tooth much more difficult and increase the risk of complications, including nerve damage.

b. Every surgical procedure carries risks

Each procedure has its own risks. Still, some procedures have less complications than others. Removing the wisdom tooth involves a relatively small risk, and although nerve damage is possible, it is very unlikely. especially when compared to other possible complications, such as dry outlet. Dry cavity occurs in approximately 10 percent of patients undergoing wisdom tooth removal surgery. However, this complication is easy to treat and quick to correct.

7. Should you remove your third molars?

If you have inflammation and pain, wisdom teeth are likely to be affected. In that case, it may be necessary to extract wisdom teeth to avoid further complications. If you are considering a proactive approach to wisdom teeth removal, you need to talk to Dr. Talk to William P. Lamas about the pros and cons of the extraction or wait for them to be removed later

1. Nerve injury due to wisdom tooth removal

Then, a wise patient with severe toothache came into my office and wanted her to leave. However, he told me that he had seen several other dentists who told him that if he pulled wisdom teeth out, he would no longer be able to feel his face and would not be able to speak correctly in the future. I told him, although his wisdom teeth were very close to the root, that what they were saying to him was totally wrong.

This is the two-dimensional panoramic radiograph of this patient that we usually like to do before examining and consulting a patient before removing his wisdom teeth. The first thing I see is that the lower wisdom teeth highlighted in red here are very close to the nerve highlighted here in blue. The nerve in question is what we call the lower alveolar nerve. As you can see, it is this nerve that we can locate on each side of your jaw. The function of this nerve is to innervate the teeth, as well as the lips and the chin area on each side of the jaw. It is a sensory nerve. It is not a motor nerve, which means that it does not move anything. It is literally just a sensory nerve that helps us to know what is going on with our teeth, to feel changes in our teeth and also to feel a sensation in our lips and chin.

Therefore, when we remove wisdom teeth, we are always concerned about damage to this lower alveolar nerve. If we take another look at this two-dimensional x-ray here, it is almost impossible to say how close it is to the nerve, since it is again a two-dimensional x-ray and the roots are above it. Since this panoramic x-ray has only a limited ability to diagnose potential nerve damage, I would like to refer to 3D X-ray and this is known as three-dimensional DVT scanning. So, in the third dimension, I have to assess where the nerve is.

If I look at a case like this and see the proximity of this nerve to the roots, I would say that there is a 10%, 20% chance that you will get some kind of nerve numbness, a nerve paresthesia after you get yours and remove your wisdom teeth. What does that mean? This means that you may feel tingling or numbness on your lips, regardless of whether they last for a few days or even a few weeks or, at worst, several months for the rest of your life. I only give a bad percentage like that because I like to be under the promise and the tradition.

If this were my mouth, how long would I really expect to go numb if it did? I would say that the overall percentage is a 5% to 10% chance. It can probably take a few days to a few weeks. I saw it realistically. He had visited several dentists who told him that he would not be able to feel all over that face and that he would not be able to speak properly afterwards. I don’t think the dentists he consulted before knew what they were talking about and had a lot of experience. Another thing that worries me about these other dentists is that I asked him specifically if any of these other dentists showed you this 3D scan before giving you this advice or telling you the likelihood of possible nerve damage. His response was that he had never seen this scan time.

My advice is that you don’t remove your wisdom teeth without doing a 3D CT scan. Without that, I wouldn’t be removing any more wisdom teeth sets. 9 years and 10,000 cases of wisdom teeth experience have taught me that there are so many different variations of anatomy in different people that you want as much knowledge as possible before removing wisdom teeth. This 3D scan just gives us a lot more additional information that is just right.

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