If your lip, chin or tongue is still numb, painful or altered after a tooth extraction or dental implant, you may have been told that nerve damage was a known risk.
That may be true. It is not a complete answer.
A recognised complication can happen without negligence. But the fact that nerve damage was possible does not show whether the procedure was properly planned, whether the risk was properly explained, or whether your symptoms were taken seriously afterwards.
Those are the questions that matter in a dental nerve damage claim in Victoria.
If another law firm has already rejected your enquiry, that may not be the end of it either. Sometimes the likely legal and expert costs make a dental claim commercially unviable for a traditional firm. That is a decision about the economics of investigating the claim. It is not necessarily a conclusion that the dental care was reasonable.
A known risk explains what could happen. It does not explain why it happened to you.
What dental nerve damage can feel like
Nerves in the lower jaw supply sensation to the lower lip, chin, gums and tongue. They can be affected during lower wisdom tooth removal, implant placement and some other dental procedures.
Symptoms can include:
- numbness or reduced sensation;
- tingling, burning or electric-shock pain;
- unusual sensitivity to touch or temperature;
- altered feeling in the tongue, lip, chin, teeth or gums;
- changes to taste; or
- difficulty speaking, eating or noticing when you have bitten your lip or tongue.
Some symptoms improve as the nerve recovers. Others can last. The Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne advises that numbness or tingling after wisdom tooth surgery usually resolves but can sometimes be permanent.
This article cannot tell you what treatment you need. If you have new, persistent or worsening symptoms, seek advice promptly from an appropriately qualified dentist, oral and maxillofacial surgeon or other treating practitioner.
Does nerve damage mean the dentist was negligent?
Not by itself.
The useful question is not simply whether nerve damage is a recognised risk. It is whether reasonable care was taken before, during and after the procedure, and whether any failure caused the injury or made it worse.
An investigation may need to ask:
Was the risk identified before treatment?
The position of the tooth, implant and nearby nerve can matter. The records may show what imaging was obtained, how the anatomy was assessed and why the chosen procedure was recommended.
Were you given enough information to decide?
Consent is more than a signature on a form. Ahpra's shared code of conduct, which applies to dentists, describes informed consent as a voluntary decision made with an understanding of the benefits and risks. A claim based on a failure to warn also requires evidence that proper information would have changed your decision or the treatment you chose.
Was the procedure planned and performed with reasonable care?
An independent dental expert may need to review the imaging, treatment plan and procedure notes. The question is whether the care met the standard expected of a reasonably competent practitioner in the same circumstances.
What happened when you reported the symptoms?
The follow-up records can show when altered sensation was first reported, what examination occurred, what advice was given and whether a referral or further assessment was considered. A known complication still needs an appropriate response.
The records that can give you an answer
You do not need to diagnose the nerve or prove negligence before contacting us. Start with what happened and how it affects you.
The useful records often include:
- consent forms and written information provided before treatment;
- X-rays, scans and imaging reports;
- the treatment plan and procedure notes;
- implant details, where relevant;
- notes of calls and follow-up appointments after the procedure;
- sensory testing, referral letters and specialist reports;
- records of further treatment; and
- receipts, time off work and a short account of the impact on eating, speaking, sleep and daily life.
In Victoria, you generally have a right to request access to health information held about you. The Health Complaints Commissioner explains how to request records from private providers, including dentists.
You can also read How to establish a medical negligence claim for the evidence usually needed to prove breach, causation and loss.
If another firm said the claim was too small
Dental nerve damage claims can be difficult to investigate economically. A lawyer may need complete dental records, imaging and independent expert opinion before reaching a reliable view. Those costs can be high compared with the likely value of a modest or uncertain claim.
That leaves some injured people on the fence. The symptoms are real, but the traditional cost of finding out what happened is too high.
Clever Legal was built for this gap. Our technology does the heavy work of organising the records and building the chronology. Our lawyers review the evidence and make every legal decision. By reducing the manual cost of the first investigation, we can assess some claims that do not fit the economics of a traditional firm.
We do not assume the dentist was negligent or that the first law firm was wrong. We look at the records and tell you plainly whether there is a reasonable next step.
Get your dental nerve injury assessed
If you have ongoing numbness, altered sensation or nerve pain after a tooth extraction or dental implant, start a free assessment with Clever Legal.
Tell us what procedure you had, when the symptoms began and how they affect you now. Send any dental records, imaging or earlier legal response you already have. You do not need to work out the legal argument yourself.
There is no obligation and no guaranteed outcome. Medical negligence claims are subject to time limits, so seek advice promptly rather than waiting for symptoms or records to provide the answer on their own. See Time limits for medical negligence claims.
This article provides general information and is not legal advice or medical advice.