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Nerve damage after wisdom teeth removal

If you’re wondering how to treat nerve damage symptoms after tooth extraction (such as pain or numbness in your lips, chin or tongue), you’ve come to the right place. It’s rare to suffer from nerve damage after dental treatment, but it does happen, and it’s often the result of a negligent dentist. Symptoms like pain, burning or numbness after wisdom tooth extraction are common signs of nerve damage, so it’s important to get these issues checked by a dentist as soon as possible.

If you believe your dentist has acted negligently, you may also want to open a dental negligence claim against your dentist. Depending on the circumstances, you could receive a reasonable sum to compensate you against the poor dental treatment you’ve undergone, which could also help with any financial difficulties that may have arisen as a result.

As the UK’s leading dental negligence solicitor, the Dental Law Partnership is ready to help you with your case. To see if you have a case for dental negligence, please start your claim here.

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Whilst fairly rare, some people may experience nerve damage from having their wisdom teeth removed. There are several nerves that can be affected when having your wisdom teeth removed:

The trigeminal nerve

The lingual nerve

The inferior alveolar nerve

The surgical removal of your wisdom teeth has a higher risk of causing some level of nerve damage than any other dental procedure. Your dentist should discuss the risk of nerve damage to your lips, chin or tongue, before undertaking a procedure like this, to ensure that you can give informed consent for the treatment.

If you have had a wisdom tooth removed and have suffered nerve damage as a result, it doesn’t necessarily mean that your dentist was at fault. Your dentist will only be deemed negligent if the injury (in this case, nerve damage) was avoidable, and it was their error or poor standards of care that led to you being harmed.

If you believe that your nerve damage was caused by your dentist’s negligence when you had a wisdom tooth extracted, you may be eligible to make a claim for compensation.

Get in touch with our expert team for more information and to find out whether you have a valid claim.

What Are the Symptoms of Nerve Damage After Tooth Extraction?

Whilst nerve damage during wisdom teeth removal is rare, it’s important to know the signs, as this will enable you to rectify the issue as quickly as possible should it arise.

Wisdom tooth removal nerve damage can lead to significant issues, including:

Persistent numbness in your tongue, lip, chin, gums or teeth after the anaesthetic has worn off
Pain after dental work that doesn’t fade after a day or two, post-wisdom tooth extraction
A tingling or burning sensation that doesn’t fade once the local anaesthetic has worn off

Whilst the signs themselves may seem minor, these symptoms of nerve damage following wisdom tooth extraction can make it very difficult to eat and drink and can sometimes cause issues with speaking or eating and can be permanent.

If the nerve damage is fairly minor, the symptoms will usually disappear after a few days or weeks. However, more extensive nerve damage can take several months to heal and if the damage is severe, the symptoms you experience may be permanent. Permanent nerve damage after tooth extraction can cause lasting complications, chronic discomfort and pain in the jaw and facial regions.

If your nerve damage was caused by dental negligence, you may be able to claim compensation for your nerve injury.

Get in touch with us to find out more.

How To Manage Nerve Damage After Wisdom Teeth Removal

If you’ve suffered from nerve damage from wisdom teeth removal, it can be an extremely distressing time. We recommend speaking to your dentist as soon as you notice any of the symptoms of a nerve injury, as they may be able to recommend the next steps to take. All post-operative wisdom teeth advice should still be followed, as well as normal oral hygiene techniques (like flossing and brushing), unless your dentist recommends otherwise.

Many people opt for over-the-counter pain relief to ease the pain and discomfort that may arise from nerve damage and toothache. NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications) such as ibuprofen are recommended, as well as painkillers like paracetamol. However, for long-term pain, you should speak to your doctor or dentist to find a sufficient solution.

Advanced treatments, including surgery to repair the nerve, may be available for permanent damage, but this is still something you should speak to your dentist about. If you’re unhappy with your current dentist due to negligence, you may want to consider changing dentists – find out more in our guide to changing your dentist.

Risk of Wisdom Tooth Extraction Complications

Other potential wisdom tooth removal complications can include:

Dry socket – This is where the socket (the area the tooth was removed from) doesn’t heal as it should, and a blood clot fails to form or is dislodged from its position
Infection – The extraction site may become infected if not treated appropriately. Symptoms of infection include pain and swelling, yellow or white discharge or pus in the area, or a high temperature. Bleeding – In some cases, you may find that the extraction site doesn’t stop bleeding after the procedure is finished. A few spots of blood are expected, but any persistent bleeding can be a sign something isn’t quite right.

These types of wisdom tooth removal issues are not necessarily a sign that your dentist was negligent with your care, but if you think that a dentist mistake has caused you an injury following your wisdom tooth extraction, you might be eligible for compensation.

Contact us to find out more by calling our team on 0800 152 2034.

Start Your Dental Negligence Claim Today

Understanding how to treat nerve pain after tooth extraction is crucial for a smooth recovery, particularly if it’s a result of dental negligence. Whilst nerve damage during wisdom teeth removal is rare, it can be a serious complication that can have lasting effects on a patient’s quality of life – particularly if permanent damage occurs. By staying informed before and after treatment, patients can better understand the complexities of wisdom tooth extraction and potentially receive better dental care.

At the Dental Law Partnership, we’re a specialist firm of dental solicitors working on a no-win, no-fee basis. This means that you only pay a fee if your claim is successful, taking the risk out of the dental negligence claims process.

If you’d like to enquire further about opening a case with us, please get in touch here.

FAQ's

What Is the Risk of Nerve Damage from Wisdom Tooth Extraction?

Most wisdom tooth extractions are carried out successfully with no issues, but your dentist should still talk to you about any risk of nerve damage before you agree to the procedure.

Your dentist should ensure that you’re aware of any potential risks in relation to the treatment they carry out, so that you understand what the potential consequences could be.

If you do suffer long-term or even permanent nerve damage from wisdom tooth extraction, it doesn’t necessarily mean that your dentist was negligent in their care. However, if they didn’t make you aware of the risks and side effects before the procedure was carried out, you might be eligible to claim compensation.

How Common Is Nerve Damage After Wisdom Tooth Removal?

Nerve damage after tooth extraction is relatively unusual, and particularly in terms of wisdom tooth removal. That said, it does happen sometimes.

If you have experienced this painful and worrying condition, you might be able to make a dental negligence compensation claim, depending on your circumstances.

To find out more about this type of dental negligence and what your options are, please request a callback today.

Is Nerve Damage Permanent?

In most cases, nerve damage is not permanent and your symptoms should improve over time. However, in some instances the damage can be permanent or long-lasting – particularly if left untreated.

If you notice any of the signs of nerve damage after wisdom tooth extraction, it’s imperative that you speak to your dentist as soon as possible.

How Do I Treat Nerve Damage from a Tooth Extraction?

Minor nerve damage caused by wisdom teeth extraction will often require no treatment. The symptoms should fade on their own after a few days or weeks.

You may want to take the medication you usually rely on to treat pain, as this medication should help you to manage the pain until it fades away on its own.. For example, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory pain relief (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen, or painkillers like paracetamol may be useful.

For more serious nerve injuries caused by wisdom tooth extraction where the symptoms last for longer than a few weeks, there may be other treatment options which can be explored. However, sometimes the damage is permanent and the patient may never return to how they were before the nerve injury. In some cases, there may be an opportunity for wisdom tooth nerve damage repair to be carried out surgically, depending on the specifics of your injury.

Can Other Treatments Leave Me with Nerve Damage?

Yes, tooth extractions are not the only form of dental procedure that can lead to nerve damage if not carried out properly. There are three key nerves in the oral area of your mouth, so it’s imperative that your dentist is as careful as possible when working on your teeth.

There are several procedures that can lead to nerve damage, with the most prominent ones including anaesthetic dental injections, nerve damage after dental implants and nerve damage after root canal surgery.

Do I Have to Have My Wisdom Teeth Removed?

This is a difficult question to answer without having more information, as it’s entirely dependent on your personal situation.

In most cases, your dentist won’t recommend wisdom teeth extraction unless it’s absolutely necessary. This is because the procedure can be rather complex, with a higher level of risk depending on how impacted your wisdom teeth are, or how crowded your mouth is in the affected area.

If your wisdom teeth are not impacted, there is no real need to extract them. Even impacted wisdom teeth don’t always cause any noticeable issues, although you may find it harder to brush your teeth properly. If in doubt, we recommend speaking to your dentist for advice before committing to the surgery.

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