About two weeks ago I visited the dentist to get a number of cavities taken care of. It was my third time in three weeks, apparently there was a lot to do. This time I was getting a few done so two needles were necessary to numb me. The second needle was injected near the base of my tongue. While the numbing agent (whatever it is they use) was being put in I felt a sharp pain shoot through my tongue. It only lasted a split second though and then seemed fine so I didn’t say anything. He did what needed to be done, I wrote a cheque and then was on my way. Hours went by and the numbing slowly faded away… all except in my tongue. Exactly half of my tongue to be exact. I thought it to be a little weird but wasn’t too concerned and eventually headed off to bed for the night. I awoke the next morning to still have half of my tongue as completely numb as it had been the day before! Now I was starting to wonder. I waited till sometime in the afternoon and called the dentist.
“Hi, my tongue is still numb, that isn’t normal is it?” I asked.
“Uh, no, it shouldn’t be!” said the receptionist.
She got the dentist on the line and he said something about it lasting for one or two weeks. I went online and did some research, I found everything from a couple of days to forever! Two weeks later and it’s still the same. I’ve called the dentist and left a message, I’m waiting to hear back. The first week was rough, I had to relearn to talk. All of my ’s’ were coming out as ’sh’, I had a lisp that I did not want to keep. My mouth also gets very tired by the end of the day and my speech gets more sluggish as the day goes on. I also keep biting it and it rubs all day on my teeth since I can’t feel that side of it at all. There’s no feeling and no taste, it really does feel weird. I spoke at church on Sunday which actually went quite well all considering and a friend had come to listen works at a dentists office. She told me that it was definitely the nerves that had been damaged but the tongue numbness I’m experiencing would probably only last three or four months, she thought that the two weeks given by the dentist was a bit optimistic. I was at least a little encouraged that I had a better idea how long this would last.
I’ve never liked going to the dentist, and this definitely doesn’t help.
So I have sort of a fear of the dentist after screaming like a baby, when i was a kid, after a dentist was mean to me. I final went to the dentist for the first time in a long time about a year after Gregg and I had got married. Gregg was trying to keep me calm and see that it is not that bad. As soon as Gregg left my side i started to get a bit nervous! Then this teenage boy stats yelling! That was definitely not helping the situation. By the time they got me to my chair i was freaked and to top it off the guy next to me ended up getting 12 cavities!! I figured because i had waited so long i was screwed! Well turns out it was not that bad and the dentist was nice. But I definitely do not like the dentist and your experience tells me to never mix Canada and Dentists!
Good Luck Norm!!! We are praying for your tongue!