Tongue numbe 3 weeks after wisdom tooth extraction

lilastragirl

I am so worried
Hi All,

I had an awful experience I got my lower wisdom tooth removed by dentist in Lucan 3 weeks ago. He was a french guy who said it wud be no prob to take it out. It was buried under gum, It took him almose 2 hours to get my tooth out it was horrendeous...

Anyway the next morning I was screaming in agony after almost overdosing on painkillers and nothing worked I went back to his surgery at 8 am my face was enormous, not just the normal swelling... when he seen me he brushed his hand at me and said I have no time for you now...

I started crying ( btw i could open my jaw even enough to pop tablet in)
He then abrubtly took me into his room and looked at me and said u have "trimis" and told me to go home and take anti biotic...

I walked out of his room crying and drove myself straight to James hospital where I was admitted within 10 mins on IV drips.. I ended up in there for 6 days!!!!!!!

I had absess the size of a tennis ball,this trismis( like lock jaw) took 3 weeks to go AND MY TONGUE REMAINS NUMB since it was done. I am now under a maxifacial surgeon who is taking about trying to reconnect nerve to my tongue which he thinks dentist severed...

Can anyone tell me any more info on this. My speech is badly affected I am still on painkillers and I cant taste much.
Feels like a trip to dentist has changed my life.

Plek Trum

Crikey - sounds like an awful lot to go through!
Do you mind me asking if the dentist took an x-ray before he performed the extraction?

Zizou

Sorry to here bout the Awful experience you've had..

I had four wisdoms take out a few years ago, 1st dentist wanted to take 2 of them out there and then, went for a second opinion, not a fan of dentists & ended up in the northbrook clinic under general anasthetic (vhi), good experience, very little swelling.

I know someone who was living in paris and got them out, exact same experience as you had but was under general anasthetic.
Shoddy dentistry :mad:

lilastragirl

Hey,
Yeah he took xray and told me that this tooth was no problem.

I have this awful burning sensation on my tongue and inside of cheek, know it's weird saying it's buring when it's numb, but from what i've read up on this burning is typical sign of lingual nerve damage.

Still cant open my mouth fully and I've lost 16lbs in 3 weeks!!!!!!!!!

I'm actually thinking of persuing it with a solicitor.

clally

So sorry to hear that, I had a bad extraction when i was a child and was in the chair for an hour and thought that was horrendous.

As for going to a solicitor, I really think you should, as soon as you are well enough, i work as a legal executive and I'd be shocked if you didn't get damages.

That's such a horrible thing to go through, surely there is some one you can report this too. I mean there has to be a body responsible for the professional practice of dentists. Hope you're ok and everything works out. All the best.

taram

+1 for going to a solicitor. If it, god forbid, gets worse you'll need to take legal action. It could happen again to someone, and even if it was a once off, you may still have unnesscary medical bills to recoup and undergone a lot of trauma for a wisdom tooth.

Best of luck.

davo10

Lilastragirl, temporary/permanent parasthesia of the nerves around wisdom teeth is a risk factor in wisdom tooth extration and for this reason should have been explained to you before the extraction( informed consent ). However do not panic just yet, in the very rare occasions when it does happen it tends to be temporary. Because the extraction took so long I suspect the dentist had to give you a couple of top-up anaesthetic injections, this may have induced ischemia if the nerves leading to what is termed claudication, (numb chin). Patients describe this as being like the anaesthetic wearing off very, very slowly and can take weeks or even months, but the sensation does come back. Also if there was a lot of post op swelling it may take longer than usual for nerve to return to normal. I would suggest you contact an Oral Surgeon for re-assurance.

lilastragirl

Hi Davo,
Thanks for ur reply, I nothing was ever explained to me about the risks nor did I sign any kind of consent.

I am under the care of a professor in this field professor Stassen, he think because the tongue is "densily numb" that the dentist has severed the nerve. I've had no change in sensation since getting it done.

It really has been tramatic, and I'm getting really down, especially cos of my speech.

BryanL

Hell Lilastragirl,
it's a pity that this has happened to you,sometimes it can happen even under the very best of care.
I saw a patient who had ,had the same thing happen to her on both sides, despite it being done under gerneral anaesthetic and by a Maxilo facial surgeon.
however over a period of a few months her speach improved to again be completly normal.
fingers crossed things improve for you.
Bryan.

Zizou

I'd say you have a very strong case re : Medical Negligence/Malpractise, although majority of these cases tend to favour the "professionals" It would be hard to see this not ruling in your favour.

All the best & a speedy recovery..

lilastragirl

Hey,

Thanks for all the replies, It's now 5 weeks with still no change in the sensation in my tongue whatsoever...

Back with Professor Stassen on 27th Aug, TBH I cant wait to see him, this is prob the worse experience of my life. I was at a theme park at weekend and bit my tongue on rollercoaster and never noticed until my Fiancee seen blood in my teeth, pretty bad bite too.

Love to know if anyone has had any experience with this lingual nerve damage and had it repaired??????

lilastragirl

Hi
I just wanted to update anyone who has had this awful experience.
I was flown to sheffield in Nov to have lingual nerve repair surgery, nobody in ireland is qualified to do it, and had a 4 hour operatiopn to try repair it. I wont know for 3 months if it has worked. as of yet there is no change.

Anyone who needs more info on this please pm me

btkm8unsl0w5r4

Sorry the hear about your bad experiance. Complications no matter how rare do happen sometimes and it really is bad that it happened to you. Please keep us updated as to how the lingual nerve repair surgery works out.

MonicaBing

lilastragirl wrote: »

Hi
I just wanted to update anyone who has had this awful experience.
I was flown to sheffield in Nov to have lingual nerve repair surgery, nobody in ireland is qualified to do it, and had a 4 hour operatiopn to try repair it. I wont know for 3 months if it has worked. as of yet there is no change.

Anyone who needs more info on this please pm me

Hey girl, how have things been since Dec? You poor pet, am so sorry to hear of the shoddy experience. But please be reassured by all of the posts on this thread and other dental related threads, that not all Dentista are like that pig, really hope things have improved for you..

suzieb

Hi sorry to hear about that it must have been tough for you.

To all those people blaming the dentist though I genuinely wouldnt blame him. Yeah he should have warned her of the dangers of nerve damage but it is one of thos things that can happen and I'm sure he wouldnt have taken the tooth out unnecessarily.

I got my 4 teeth out under GA last year and I had temporary parasthesia for about 3-4 weeks. I was worried at the time but this is something I had been warned about and if you've ever seen an x ray of wisdom teeth they most often sit right on a nerve so it must be a near impossible job to do.

I am not a dentist but these threads are getting ridiculous with people absolutely slating dentists all the time.

They are not out to hurt you. The majority do everything in the interest of their patients.

Their job must be extremely stressful with a lot of people who have fear of dentist putting off going to a dentist for years, and then when finally do make the appointment to see dentist they find they need a lot of work done which inevitably will cost a lot of money-compared to people who regularly attend a dentist for their free(under social welfare) 6 monthly check up appointments.
And then when dentist has to take a tooth out for someone who has neglected their mouth for years, imo they are fighting a losing battle -esp if it takes a long time,the patient feels the sensation of pressure(not pain-pressure) and then the patient bad mouths the dentist as a "butcher"...

I think its awful and I'd imagine the majority of people on boards who are calling dentists butchers,giving out about the price of treatment and bad mouthing dentists in southern ireland as if they are total quacks are the ones who dont regularly go to get check ups and only attend when they are in pain or having trouble.

I'm glad i'm not a dentist.

lilastragirl

Well firstly I never slated the dentist, but his after care service to me wehn he did make a mess was disgraceful, and this has been the worst experience of my life, and his mistake has cost me almost 10k!!!!!!!!!!!

I glad that I have about 5% feeling back in my tongue since operation, anything is better tan nothing!!!!!!!!!

Tristram

lilastragirl wrote: »

Can anyone tell me any more info on this. My speech is badly affected I am still on painkillers and I cant taste much.
Feels like a trip to dentist has changed my life.

Is this thread about you complaining or a search for information? If so what kind of information are you looking for? You say you are receiving medical attention for the problem, surely they will offer better advice than people on an internet forum?

anonymousjunkie

Tristram wrote: »

Is this thread about you complaining or a search for information? If so what kind of information are you looking for? You say you are receiving medical attention for the problem, surely they will offer better advice than people on an internet forum?

Cop onto yourself. She started this thread when it initally happened and was looking for information. She's since been receiving professional help.

Tristram

anonymousjunkie wrote: »

Cop onto yourself. She started this thread when it initally happened and was looking for information. She's since been receiving professional help.

If you are going to respond to a post perhaps you should address its content... and cop onto yourself. :pac:

anonymousjunkie

Tristram wrote: »

If you are going to respond to a post perhaps you should address its content... and cop onto yourself. :pac:

Perhaps you should fully read threads rather than lashing out at OP's for some obscure reason known only to yourself!

Tristram

anonymousjunkie wrote: »

Perhaps you should fully read threads rather than lashing out at OP's for some obscure reason known only to yourself!

Perhaps my reading skills are more nuanced than yours... care to demonstrate where I lashed out? I can only see questions.

jellybeans

God that sounds awful. Have yu gone back to the dentist? does he know he severed the nerve?

sudzs

Ohmigod, you poor thing. I really hope you feel better soon and get over the absolute trauma of it all.

And agree with the other poster who suggested legal advice.

I have 2 wisom teeth in my lower jaw and because they are so close to a major nerve the dentist said I would probably need a specialist and surgery to have them removed rather than just a regular dentist.

And I would also ignore the snippy snotty posts that are no help whatsoever!

Best of luck with it lilastragirl.

lilastragirl

Just going to ignore the bad comments...
Yeah I went back to dentist so he knows what he done, in fact he actually said "the procedure went well".... I was like eh... hate to see if it went bad.

Anyway I am seeking legal advice, mostly to try get back mt medical expenses.
I really started this thread to try help anyone else who has had this happen, and to share my experience of it, and if anyone had any tips for helping the pain, of course the docs have given all the pro advice, but nothing better than advice from somenone who has experienced it.

DeVore

Tristram, Junkie... stay off this thread.

OP... sorry to hear about your bad experience. I know its a small point but sympathy and empathy are best from people who have had it. Advice, is best from trained professionals, good ones .

with all of that said, I am not a doctor but friends who have had nerve damage have taken 12 months and longer to recover. It wasnt dental but it was facial. Listen to your doc, follow their advice and keep your fingers crossed. Come back and let us know how you get on.

Oh, and sue the hell out of him. Its true that mistakes are made but if he waved his hand at me dismissively I'd have strapped him into his own chair and done a little "dental exploration" myself

If not for yourself, for the next person he dismisses.

DeV.

rocksteady36

<snip>
1 Necro post
2 Naming professionals here is against the charter
3 Are you a solicitor? If you are feel free to give legal advice in your office, not here.
4 For a person who has had a good experience with his wisdom teeth removal, you sure don't seem to like dentists. The person who removed your wisdom teeth trained me and several of the other dentists who post here and is himself a dentist, a doctor and oral and maxillofacial surgeon.
5 If you have a problem with this post editing feel free to pm me and I will explain the situation to you in more detail.

lilastragirl

Totally lost on what happening with the last post?

Big_G

I'll do my best to explain, the above statements were directed at the person who made the previous post. We don't like old threads to be dug up unless by the OP to update us on status. There were several other issues with that post and that is why it had to be edited.

How is the numbness? Any improvement?

seensensee

OP I am dismayed to hear your story, it brings up painful memories from my past when a few dentists were ignoring my troubles. I have learned to trust in only the most highly qualified, recommended and trusted dentists in the country, yes they cost more than the standard but it is a price worth paying for a safe satisfaction guaranteed job done well.

rocksteady36

Well Big G that was seriously strange you deleted my post but it proves a point i made in my post, that the mods are dentists and they make sure that they have power over what is posted and not posted even if its in the publics interest.

My post is not directed at the previous poster de vore but to lilastragirl and her name is stated numerous times, so you are manipulating the info being put on boards.ie, who gives the job to you is beyond me, it should be a mod who is idependent, not a dentist, dentists should be allowed to have their say as much as anyone too, but i dont think its very objective or unbiased if this is run by the profession itself.

I said nothing wrong in the post, you actually insinuate that i said something negative about the person who trained you, i did not, he was great and lilastragirl is/was attending him now and thats great to know, so it sounds like i said something negative about him they way you have to explain you and others were trained by him and his qualifications..... Thats a bit sneaky?
I did not insinuate that. I was merely pointing out that you seem to have a problem with dentists even though you have had a good experience with a dentist. Doesn't really tally.

All i said was that its not right for you and the other dentists to stop us from voicing our concerns with someone from your profession and i also said any profession. Also the girl never posted the details of the culprit who did a terrible job on her wisdom teeth, you guys argue that mistakes happen, but mistakes are one thing but to treat her the way he did after is another, i do hope she does take him to court. To drop an instrument on the floor is a mistake but to not tell her of potential risks and then damage her lingual nerve thats just negligent, arguably illegal??
This is not to the forum to determine who did what to whom. She never posted the details because it is against the rules here.

Also as for being a solicitor, i would like to say that the dentist did not tell her of the risks like my dentist and she did not sign a waiver form which is a legal documnet stating she knew the possible risks, so she has a great chance of being succesful in court, but you dont want me to say that here as your a dentist???
Again, not the place for this. There are other places, not the internet, where it would be better to determine this. It's nothing to do with me being a dentist. Things posted here are a matter of legal record. That is all I am saying.


Also 'NECRO POST', I had to google that, bit sad really, if I want to post a year later thats my business and it would have been interesting to see how the girl got on anyway. Your really manipulating her there, 'you will do your best to explain??? You didnt even try to explain a word i said!
I am not manipulating. Threads exist here that have not been edited and if dug up from the past will be in violation of current rules of the charter which means Fitzgeme and I have to go through them and edit out the bits that are recently against the rules.

Lastly, what this about 'we dont like old threads being DUG up' that just sounds so negative, I dont think anyone else minds, it sounds odd, is this a boards.ie policy or just you dentists here?
See above.

I have no problem with dentists just people who manipulate others, and I have noticed a lot that naming professionals is never a problem unless you want to delete a post, and did you have to delete the whole post?
Naming professionals is against the charter. And yes I had to delete the whole post.

You're new around here. I suggest you read our charter, which is what you are supposed to do before you post on any forum on boards. On thread criticism of mods is not tolerated. I asked you to PM me to explain why I edited your post. You came on here solely to bash dentists. Take a month off for on thread criticism of mods. You also reposted the things I edited the previous post for. If you have a problem with this pm me or Fitzgeme or one of the CatMods.

ballsymchugh

rocksteady, welcome to the forum. this is really an information forum where people seek advice on all things dental, and advice is given. the advice is usually scientifically proven, but occasionally you get the odd clown that will post anecdotal evidence of what happened to themselves. this is why the mods are dentists, to sort the shyte out from the real advice. there's a lot if disinformation that appears on this forum which has no basis and should never be trusted.

as for giving legal advice, there's a legal discussions forum on boards. as far as i know, it's against their charter to actually give legal advice but i'm not sure if it's boards-wide. the mods there are solicitors. if you feel that you could be of benefit to the OP, then you should maybe PM her, as i'm sure she'd appreciate your advice if that's the road she wants to take.

the OP was looking for advice on what other people may have experienced in having a loss of sensation, as she said herself.

dellas1979

Had a top wisdom tooth taken out.
Dentist told me that top ones are usually straight forward, but bottom ones 99% of the time need surgical extraction and they are fused to the jaw bone.

Only in very luck cases are the bottom ones not fused.

So bear this in mind when getting wisdom teeth out.