Any of you guys dentists, oral surgeons, or maybe people who have experience in this sort of thing that you could shed some light? I had maxillofacial surgery (wisdom tooth removal on bottom jaw) on Monday, and my mouth is still partially numb (I have no feeling outside of slight tingling sensations here or there on my right lip, and chin). I'm panicking and dont know what else to do. I've called the surgeons office but they're closed to Monday, so I have literally no professional I can call up and ask.
I figured if we didnt have any dentists or oral surgeons here, we'd definitely have people who've had wisdom teeth taken out that may be able to shed some light on their experiences.
My wife works at a dentists place. She said the nerve in your lower jaw is damaged and you need to see the doctor. However you may can wait till monday because if the nerve is damaged there is not much they can do for you and it will take time. There is a good change that the feeling will come back after time but the nerve is likely damaged which is not that good......
Man, talk about getting bad news on a day that's supposed to be good. Thanks for asking her for me, I appreciate you taking the time out to do that. If im not mistaken the nerve she is referring to is the Mandibular Nerve? If so, has she seen anyone have a speedy recovery from it? If this thing is going to last weeks (or even months) thats a scary thing to grow acustom to. I've got to be honest, i'm actually panicking and am fairly worried.
FWIW, I had jaw surgery 20 years ago and still have some residual numbness around my jaw/ chin. Early on it used to be really numb, now is somewhat numb.
So, absolute worst-case scenario, you will have a chin/jaw that is not quite as sensitive as it once was. Pretty sure this WON'T happen to you, it is uncommon, but if it does happen --worst case scenario-- it's really nothing and will not make your life worse in anyway. Like breaking your toe and it heals a little crooked. So now your toe is a little bit crooked. It just doesn't really matter. Seriously.
Nerves are obviously hyper-sensitive and get numb when they are disturbed by something around them, such as swelling from an operation. When the swelling goes down, the nerves usually go back to normal again. In some cases, there can be some risidual numbness that lasts and slowly goes away. In fewer cases, such as mine, that numbness can be permanent --but, again, it USUALLY isn't permanent. You JUST had the operation on monday, you still have a lot of swelling.
Don't worry. Even if it is a worst case scenario, it'll be ok.
FWIW, I had jaw surgery 20 years ago and still have some residual numbness around my jaw/ chin. Early on it used to be really numb, now is somewhat numb.
So, absolute worst-case scenario, you will have a chin/jaw that is not quite as sensitive as it once was. Pretty sure this WON'T happen to you, it is uncommon, but if it does happen --worst case scenario-- it's really nothing and will not make your life worse in anyway. Like breaking your toe and it heals a little crooked. So now your toe is a little bit crooked. It just doesn't really matter. Seriously.
Nerves are obviously hyper-sensitive and get numb when they are disturbed by something around them, such as swelling from an operation. When the swelling goes down, the nerves usually go back to normal again. In some cases, there can be some risidual numbness that lasts and slowly goes away. In fewer cases, such as mine, that numbness can be permanent --but, again, it USUALLY isn't permanent. You JUST had the operation on monday, you still have a lot of swelling.
Don't worry. Even if it is a worst case scenario, it'll be ok.
Maestre thanks for the vote of confidence. I've been reading up on this and it seems the recovery can be anywhere from a week, to 6 months. Like you said im just gonna have to be patient and ride it out. I'm coping with it alot better now than I was before (the unscratchable itch drove me INSANE). I'm happy to hear that chances are looking good.