Nerve Damage After Tooth Extraction Claims Solicitors in Manchester
If you’ve had a tooth extracted weeks ago and are still numb or in pain, something isn’t right.
If you’ve had a tooth extracted weeks ago and are still numb or in pain, something isn’t right.
Persistent numbness and tingling or burning aren’t normal side effects of an extraction. Those symptoms should have settled by now. If they haven’t, you may have suffered nerve damage after your tooth extraction.
When nerve damage happens as a result of poor care or inadequate preparation by your dentist, you may be entitled to claim compensation. Call us on 0161 877 1066 for free advice on whether you have a claim.
Lower back teeth carry the highest risk of nerve injury. The inferior alveolar nerve runs through the lower jawbone, close to the roots of the lower molars and premolars. The further back in the mouth the tooth sits, the closer its roots are likely to be to that nerve.
Heavily decayed teeth, or those with curved or unusually long roots, can also pose a higher risk. A dentist may need to use more force or a more complex technique to remove them. That increases the chance of disturbing the nerve. Your dentist has a duty to assess the nerve risk before starting any of these procedures.
No. Only the nerve inside the tooth is removed along with the root, but the nerves surrounding the tooth stay in the jaw. These nerves are responsible for sensation in your gums, lips, chin, and tongue. They run close to the tooth roots, particularly in the lower jaw. During an extraction, those nerves can be disturbed or, in more serious cases, damaged. Your dentist should assess that risk before extracting any tooth near a major nerve.
Normal post-extraction discomfort settles quickly, but nerve damage tooth extraction symptoms feel different and persist. You may notice numbness or loss of feeling in your lip, chin, tongue, or gum.
Some people feel a burning or tingling sensation around the extraction site. Others experience sharp pain that isn’t linked to the socket healing. You may also feel sensitivity in the teeth next to the extraction site.
Nerve pain after a tooth extraction that continues past two weeks needs a second opinion from an independent dental professional.
X-rays show the position of the roots relative to the inferior alveolar nerve. If your tooth’s roots appear close to the nerve, a cone beam CT scan gives a more detailed picture than a simple X-ray. It shows the tooth’s position in three dimensions.
Your dentist should also explain the nerve risk to you clearly before the procedure. If the risk was significant, they should have offered a referral to a specialist oral surgeon. Failing to take any of these steps can form the basis of a dental negligence tooth extraction claim.
Our dental negligence solicitors can review your records and tell you whether your dentist’s standard of care fell short.
Nerve injury is a known risk of some extractions and can happen even when a dentist has done everything right. What our solicitors look at to determine whether you have a claim is whether your dentist met the standard expected of a competent professional.
Here are some of the failures that most commonly support a claim for nerve damage after dental extraction:
This list is not exhaustive. If you suffered a nerve injury after a tooth extraction, speak to our dental negligence solicitors to determine if you have a claim.
Most personal injury claims follow a similar process, whether you were hurt at work, in a road traffic accident, while cycling, or in a public place. But no two claims are exactly the same.
A personal injury claim can arise when someone else’s negligence causes your injury. This could be a careless driver, an employer, or a business that failed to fix a dangerous condition. But whether you have grounds to make a claim depends on how the accident happened and who is responsible. Not every accident necessarily leads to a valid personal injury claim.
Poor dental care can leave you in pain, facing further treatment, and with substantial unexpected costs. If that’s happened to you, you may have the right to make a dental negligence claim.
Your dentist was supposed to fix a problem. Instead, you’re dealing with the consequences of dental treatment that left you worse off, like suffering constant pain or needing further procedures. You want to know: do I have a dental negligence claim?
In some cases, yes. Where the nerve has been bruised or irritated, it’ll often recover over weeks or months. Where the damage is more serious, your options may include medication to manage nerve pain or a referral to an oral and maxillofacial surgeon. In more complex cases, microsurgical nerve repair may be an option.
Recovery typically depends on how badly the nerve was damaged and how quickly the injury was picked up. Sometimes, permanent nerve damage after a tooth extraction doesn’t fully respond to treatment.
You’ll need to show that your dentist fell below the standard expected of a competent dental professional, and that this failure caused your injury. That’s not always straightforward to establish on your own, which is why an independent expert assessment is so important.
Our solicitors can review your dental records and advise you on the strength of your claim before committing to anything. And if we don’t think you have a viable claim, we’ll tell you that too.
Temporary nerve damage that fully resolves usually results in a lower payout than a permanent injury, but you could still have a valid claim. Where the damage has changed how you live, work, and feel day to day, tooth extraction nerve damage compensation should reflect that in full.
Our solicitors look at the complete picture when valuing your case. That includes the physical impact of your injury, your financial losses, and the effect on your quality of life. We’ll also factor in the cost of any corrective dental treatment and wages you’ve lost.
Yes. The Limitation Act 1980 sets a three-year time limit for dental negligence claims. For most people, that clock starts on the date of the extraction. If you didn’t connect your symptoms to the procedure straight away, the three years may run from the day you made that connection.
Claimants who were under 18 at the time of the extraction have until their 21st birthday to bring a tooth extraction negligence claim.
An independent clinical expert can also assess your injury and give a view on its cause and severity. Make sure you retain any correspondence with the practice. It’s also a good idea to keep a personal record or journal of your symptoms.
You don’t have to struggle with this alone. If you have a valid claim, our solicitors can gather the evidence required. We can request your records and instruct an expert on your behalf.
The first thing we do is listen. We’ll ask you to walk us through what happened, from the procedure itself to the symptoms you’ve been dealing with since. From there, our solicitors assess whether you have a viable tooth extraction nerve damage claim.
If we take your case on, we can handle everything from requesting your dental records to instructing an independent clinical expert. That expert examines your injury and gives their professional opinion on whether the treatment fell below the required standard of care.
We handle tooth extraction nerve damage no-win-no-fee claims, so you pay nothing upfront. Our solicitors win more than 95% of the cases we take on. Call us on 0161 877 1066 or contact us online when you’re ready to take the next step.
Our team of solicitors will handle your case personally.
We are based in Manchester and all our work is done in-house.
Our solicitors are fully trained and qualified to handle your case.
We are dedicated to winning your case and there are no hidden fees.
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