Before removing the wisdom teeth in the lower jaw, most doctors will explain to the patient the risk of nerve damage, and this sentence also makes a lot of patients who are interested in making a break with the “standing teeth” eventually choose to give up. Yes, I’m paralyzed, I can’t feel my food, I can’t be a lady, is it so difficult to be a foodie? Is the situation really that complicated? Today I want to give you an answer from the perspective of a professional doctor. First of all, let’s talk about the relationship between wisdom teeth and nerves. The mandibular wisdom tooth is located at the very back of the jawbone, and the location of the inferior alveolar nerve in this area is relatively superficial, with a distance of only 1-2mm from the root tip of the wisdom tooth. However, when dental radiographs are taken, this distance is often obscured by the angle, showing the wisdom tooth and the nerve coming into close contact. So when you see your wisdom tooth and nerve next to each other, please do not be overly nervous. An experienced doctor will analyze further based on the results of the intraoral examination and the dental film characteristics. Of course, if you want to know the exact position of the relationship, you can also consider taking a dental CT. secondly, so if they are really next to each other, will the extraction really damage the nerve? Yes, if the teeth are really next to each other, extraction will indeed touch the nerve, which is unavoidable. But it is not necessary that the nerve will be damaged. The clinical incidence of nerve damage symptoms after wisdom tooth extraction reported by different research centers in different countries ranges from 1%-20%, but most of them are reversible and temporary, and only 0.5%-1% are permanent. Although this is a very low probability, it is still a risk! In fact, this part of the patient mainly occurs in older patients, especially people over 35 years old, the incidence of lower than this age is even lower, this is why? Because the younger you are, the roots are just developing, there is a tender periodontal membrane surrounding the roots, and the bone around the roots is softer —— which means When you apply force to the wisdom tooth, these surrounding tissues do a good job of sharing the pressure that should be applied to the nerve —— That’s not all, the wisdom tooth will easily dislodge the The nerve will be easily dislodged, just like a breeze brushing through your hair, and your extraction operation time will be drastically shortened as a result, as well as the time the nerve is under pressure – that’s the advantage of being young. As you get older, your wisdom tooth wings harden, the soft periodontal membrane slowly disappears, and the jawbone turns from a handful of clay to rock, only your fragile nerve is still pressed under the wisdom tooth and cannot get out. At this point in time, all the strength can only be borne by the nerve, hitting the egg with a stone, the consequences can be imagined. So you pull or not pull, the risk is always there, only increasing! Thirdly, even temporary numbness and facial paralysis affect my work. The nerve damaged by extraction is mainly the lower alveolar nerve, which is only responsible for the sensation of the lower lip and lower teeth on one side, so minor damage does not affect the appearance. However, due to the nutritional effect of the nerve on the muscle tissue, for patients with more severe injuries, clinical examination does reveal subtle inconsistencies in the movement of one side of the lower lip, such as a ghostly smile. As for facial palsy, I have encountered two cases in my work, one due to anatomical variation and anesthetic injection, which recovered after the anesthetic; the other due to sitting by the car window after tooth extraction and blowing into real facial palsy, but these are not related to the blocked wisdom teeth themselves. In fact, wisdom teeth are not as powerful as you think! Finally, what should I do if I am unfortunate enough to be affected? Relying mainly on oral nerve-nourishing medication, most patients will recover in about 1-6 months. All you need to do is to pull the tooth early! Use medication early when symptoms appear! If the doctor and patient work together, the result will not be bad! In summary, lower alveolar nerve damage caused by tooth extraction can be controlled. The key to control depends on two things: finding an experienced doctor; and making a break early. The nerve and the blocked wisdom tooth are like the hero and heroine in the emotional drama, although the surface is intimate, most of them are just doing the scene, and you, as the director, want to avoid the fake scene, please call out early. At the same time before the release, must remember to find a good film company (doctor), so that your box office will not be bad! This article is authorized by Dr. Qi Wei.