Nerve injury This nerve is susceptible to bruising or injury during the operation. As a result of this, patients who undergo lower jaw surgery tend to notice a numb area on their lip and chin after surgery. In the majority of cases, the nerve recovers over a period of months and sensation returns to normal.
Jędrzejewski et al. 4 reviewed complications associated with orthognathic surgery, and reported that the rate of nerve injury was the highest at 50%, followed by TMD (14%), hemorrhage (9%), hearing problem (7%), infections (7%), and relapse (4%).
Recovery of sensation may take 12 months. Some permanent numbness is seen in up to 10 in 100 cases (10%). Pain after surgery is typically temporary. Most patients use pain medications for the first 2 weeks.
The inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) is the most commonly injured structure during mandibular osteotomies.
Injury to the inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) and lingual nerves (LN) during dental and oral surgery procedures is an uncommon complication, but understanding the management of the injury is important. Damage to either nerve can lead to numbness and pain of the lip, mucosa and tongue, as well as loss of taste.
Commonly injured nerves include the ulnar nerve (28%), brachial plexus (20%), lumbosacral root (16%), and spinal cord (13%).
While most nerve damage is always accidental, negligence by a dentist during a dental procedure can also result in dental nerve damage. With treatment, dental nerve damage can heal in six to eight weeks. If, however, the effects last more than six months, then it is considered permanent nerve damage.
It causes intense pains—described as stabbing or electric-shock-like sensations—to shoot through the jaw and cheek areas. 5 The pain can be triggered by light touch. This condition is often mistaken for tooth pain due to the nerve's proximity to the teeth. 6 It can also mimic ear pain.
Oral nerve injury caused by trauma during medical or dental procedures is marked by constant pain, aching, burning, numbness or tingling in the mouth, tongue or lip. Nerve damage may also result in loss of sensation in these areas.
Changed sensation in the tongue, chin, or lower lip areas (similar to sensations you feel when your oral cavity is numbed for a dental procedure or as the anesthesia slowly wears off) Altered ability to taste. Difficulty speaking or eating. Pain that might be experienced as a burning sensation.
Thirty-six hours following surgery, the application of gentle moist heat to the sides of the face is beneficial in reducing the swelling and stiffness. Sleep with your head elevated on two pillows for the first week.
10) To help stimulate your awareness of facial movement when the nerve is still healing, a gentle massage may be helpful. Exercises will not make the nerve heal more quickly, but emphasizing your movements will help prevent "muscle wasting," which can contribute to facial weakness related to the nerves.
Corrective Jaw Surgery Risks
Risks include infection, bleeding or the need for further surgery to improve or adjust a result. While patients frequently feel numbness or tingling in various areas of their face and mouth after surgery, the sensation usually goes away as the swelling subsides.
However, the extensive bone and muscle manipulation and various movements during surgery may result in postoperative pain, especially in the TMJ. Positional changes of the mandible, maxilla, or both jaws during orthognathic surgery can affect the TMJ, masticatory musculature, and surrounding soft tissue [5, 6].
Pain and Swelling
Pain often peaks 3 to 5 days after surgery, and should slowly subside after. During the first 24 hours, ice packs can help to reduce the overall amount of swelling that you will experience. It can also help to relieve sensitivity. You can continue to use ice 3 to 4 days after your procedure.
As odd as it sounds, you don't feel it – I promise! If anything, your faces feels a little bit heavier than usual, but you get used to that within a couple of hours. You honestly don't even feel the metal because they're too far up.
Nerve damage after a dental injection
This nerve damage could be minor, and the symptoms may disappear on their own after a few days or weeks. Alternatively, the nerve could potentially be damaged more seriously, which may mean long-term or even permanent symptoms.
A panoramic dental X-ray shows all of the structures in your mouth on a single image, including your upper and lower teeth, jaw joints, nerves, sinuses and supporting bone. A panoramic X-ray allows your dentist to get an overview of any existing oral health issues.
A trigeminal nerve injury may affect a small area, like part of your gum, or a large area, like one side of your face. The injury can cause problems with chewing and speaking. The extent depends on where the nerve damage occurs. You may have ongoing numbness or facial pain in the area that the nerve serves.
In 85 to 94% of cases, spontaneous complete recovery typically occurs within 8 weeks. Recovery for the mandibular nerve (which is harbored within rigid jawbone) is possibly more likely than for the lingual nerve (which lies in movable soft tissue).
However, according to the Journal of Oral & Maxillofacial Research, most nerve injuries of this kind recover within six months, and in rare cases take up to 24 months.
Trigeminal neuralgia (TN), also known as tic douloureux, is sometimes described as the most excruciating pain known to humanity. The pain typically involves the lower face and jaw, although sometimes it affects the area around the nose and above the eye.
It should be noted that repaired nerve fibres recover at a rate of 1 mm/day, meaning an injury 10 cm away may take 3-4 months (or longer) until muscle function is restored. Improvement in function may be expected for a period of up to 2 years.
During surgery, nerve scar tissue is traced back to where it's still healthy in the soft tissue and the nerve repaired. This provides a path for the nerve to regrow, which takes about six to nine months. Surgery is performed through the mouth, so there is no visible scar.