Last week I answered a question from Tina from California, who was told she has buccal nerve damage as a complication of the removal of her wisdom teeth. I suggested that she may have an entrenched infection that needs a long-term course of antibiotics. Here is her reply:
“Thank you so very much for your insight into my unusual case. I do feel that you could be exactly correct and this is combination of two things. Infection and nerve damage. I was prescribed a good strong dose of clindamycin. I will complete the duration and then reevaluate. Of course I will absolutely join you on Facebook. I really appreciate your reply!”
– Tina from California
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About David A. Hall
Dr. David A. Hall was one of the first 40 accredited cosmetic dentists in the world. He practiced cosmetic dentistry in Iowa, and in 1990 earned his accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is now president of Infinity Dental Web, a company in Mesa, Arizona that does advanced internet marketing for dentists.
Was looking up buccal nerve damage results and came across this post about wisdom teeth and side effects. I too had wisdom teeth extracted, and the extraction of the upper one may have resulted in a pinhole perforation into the sinus cavity, which within two days into recovery resulted in a sinus infection on the left half of my sinuses. I am on antibiotics and mild pain meds, and a week later I’m hoping the worst of that awfulness is over, but now I’m wondering about the numbness I feel in my skin over the left sinus zones, running from under the eye to the left side of my nose. I was hoping it was just ‘stress’ of the skin itself being in so much pain for a week, with swelling and drainage, but does that sound at all normal? It literally feels like I had a shot of novocaine that is wearing off. When the dentist gave me a second dose to numb the area during the extraction procedure, he hit something that even though I was numb already, made me jump a mile. Could he have inadvertently hit the actual buccal nerve or some other nerve and caused it some trauma? If so, is there any recovery or just get used to having a weird patch of numb skin on my face now? – Suzanne
Response by Dr. Hall:
The feeling you have that seems like novocain wearing off is called paresthesia, and I’m confident that it is temporary. It is possible to temporarily injure a nerve while giving an injection, but your description suggests that it is your swelling that is pressing on a nerve and causing the feelings you are experiencing.