{"id":51,"date":"2007-04-29T17:41:47","date_gmt":"2007-04-30T00:41:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mynewsmile.com\/blog\/?p=51"},"modified":"2016-01-06T12:02:14","modified_gmt":"2016-01-06T19:02:14","slug":"paresthesia-from-nerve-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mynewsmile.com\/blog\/paresthesia-from-nerve-injury\/","title":{"rendered":"Paresthesia from wisdom tooth extraction"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am 35 and my dentist convinced me to have all four wisdom teeth removed<\/a> to allow for braces<\/a>. I had the surgery 7 weeks ago and had a very slow and painful recovery. I currently have little or no feeling in the left side of my lower jaw, teeth, lip and chin. The area of the numbness has lessened very slightly but I am now experiencing what can only be described as a “zinging” sensation when my chin is touched on the lower left. The paralysis means that I mispronounce some words and I wake each morning with stiffness and pain in the lip. I feel like I am eating with somebody else’s mouth and am desperate to feel normal again. Is all this a sign of the traumatized nerve repairing or a sign of nerve death?
\n– Suzanne in Pennsylvania<\/p>\n

Dear Suzanne,
\nYou’re experiencing what is called “paresthesia” in the nerve that goes to the lower left jaw. This means that the nerve is healing, and in a few weeks you should have complete feeling back.<\/p>\n

This nerve probably went close to the roots of your lower left wisdom tooth<\/a> and was bruised during the tooth\u00a0extraction<\/a>, but wasn’t severed.<\/p>\n

It can take as long as a year for this nerve to heal if it’s been damaged. Since you’re already starting to get feeling back after less than two months, I’m guessing your feeling will be back to normal in another two to four months.
\n– Dr. Hall<\/p>\n

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