Some of the signs of nerve damage after tooth extraction may include:

• Pain that doesn’t fade after a day or two, post-wisdom tooth extraction.
• A tingling sensation that doesn’t fade once the local anaesthetic has worn off.
• Numbness in your tongue, lip, chin, gums or teeth after the 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 also sometimes cause issues with speech or your ability to taste.

If the nerve damage caused by your wisdom tooth extraction 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 done was severe, sometimes the symptoms you experience may be permanent.

If your nerve damage was caused by dental negligence, you may be able to claim for compensation for the injury that you have suffered and the impact that it has had on your life. Get in touch with us to find out more.

As previously mentioned, one of the potential wisdom tooth extraction complications can be nerve damage. Whilst these complications are rare, they do sometimes happen, so it’s important that your dentist talks you through any risks before you undergo the procedure.

Other potential wisdom tooth removal complications can include:

Dry socket – where the socket (the area the tooth was removed from) doesn’t heal as it should, and a blood clot fails to form there or is dislodged from its position.

Infection – where the extraction site becomes infected. Symptoms of this include pain and swelling, yellow or white discharge or pus in the area, or a high temperature.

Bleeding – where 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 their mistake or failure to act has caused you an injury following your wisdom tooth extraction, you might be eligible for compensation. Contact us to find out more, by calling us on 0808 291 3079

Treating nerve damage from a tooth extraction

Minor nerve damage caused by wisdom tooth 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, perhaps non-steroidal anti-inflammatory pain relief, such as ibuprofen, or painkillers like paracetamol to help manage the pain until it fades away on its own.

For more serious nerve injuries caused by wisdom tooth extraction, where the symptoms last for longer than a few weeks, there may be some treatment options which can be explored, although 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 some wisdom tooth nerve damage repair to be done surgically, depending on the specifics of your injury.

If your nerve damage was caused by your dentist’s negligence when they removed one or more of your wisdom teeth, you may be able to claim compensation for what has happened to you. Get in touch with our team to discuss your options.