Teeth go numb: causes of numbness in the upper and lower jaw

Numbness of the teeth is not such a rare symptom. The reason why teeth go numb is damage or damage to the trigeminal nerve. Most often, the problem occurs as a result of unsuccessful dental procedures (treatment, extraction, prosthetics) and injuries, but there are other causes of numbness, such as injuries, neuroses or inflammation. Relieving dental numbness may include medications, physical therapy, ultrasound, laser, or surgery. Read more about them and ways to help.

Reasons why teeth and gums go numb

The main causes of numbness are ischemia, intoxication, hypovitaminosis, trauma, inflammation. Parasthesia can also spread to the lips, gums, tongue, and be accompanied by a burning sensation, monotonous pain, and unpleasant sensations when touched. Reasons why your jaw may become numb:

• complications after implantation. Dental implantation is a complex type of surgical intervention, after which neuro-dental complications often occur. The main causes of numbness in the teeth are accidental nerve damage during the implementation of the implant structure, inflammatory processes as a result of infection or rejection of the structure;

At the first signs of numbness after dental implantation, contact your doctor - he will help eliminate unpleasant symptoms and avoid progression of the pathology in the future.

• poor quality treatment. With complex tooth extraction, especially with deformed and twisted roots, a complication such as numbness occurs quite often. This is explained by the high risk of damage to the alveolar plexus or nerve branch in the area of ​​manipulation. There are very high risks of complications when removing third molars - in this case, numbness extends to the chin, cheek, part of the gums, and lips. Read more details about why an extracted tooth becomes numb and hurts in this material. Similar problems can arise in case of improper treatment - root perforation, use of low-quality materials, etc.
• injuries. Injuries to the branches of the trigeminal nerve occur as a result of blows (to the face, falling on a hard surface) or dental or ENT operations. When treating caries on wisdom teeth and filling canals, the third branch of the trigeminal nerve is most often affected, and it also comes under attack when the canals are perforated. In case of injuries of this type, in addition to numbness, pain (throbbing or aching) and goosebumps appear;
• use of anesthesia. The branch of the trigeminal nerve may be damaged during the administration of anesthesia or as a result of incorrect calculation of the dosage of the anesthetic. If, in principle, no one is insured against the first, then the second error relates to medical errors;
• neuroses. Neurological symptoms may include seizures, muscle spasms, and grinding of teeth during sleep. The neurogenic nature of dental numbness can be indirectly indicated by cases of jaw contraction during sleep, without loads or other influence. In this case, sedatives, antispasmodics, and psychotherapy are prescribed;
• inflammatory processes. Neuropathy of the trigeminal nerve and, as a consequence, numbness of the teeth can develop against the background of inflammation of gum disease, chronic fibrous pulpitis in the acute stage, periodontitis, sinusitis, osteomyelitis, inflammation of the middle ear. The pain manifests itself acutely, the increase in its intensity is insignificant. The remaining symptoms are associated with the localization area of ​​the pathological process. Numbness can also be caused by pathologies of the infraorbital canal, TMJ arthritis;

• lack of vitamins. For normal functioning of the nervous system, you need to constantly eat a full range of microelements and nutrients. Within the framework of the problem under consideration, special emphasis should be placed on B vitamins, the deficiency of which is one of the most common causes of neurological disorders. So, proper nutrition and taking special medications are one of the important steps towards a healthy life.

In addition to dental diseases, injuries, vertical cracks in the teeth, migraines, hypertensive crises, some types of allergies, circulatory disorders, tumor processes, and cervical osteochondrosis can cause the development of trigeminal neuritis and numbness. Facial muscles may become numb due to common infectious diseases.

Numb gums - what does it mean?

When the gums become numb, unpleasant and tingling sensations appear in the soft tissue area. The manifestation of pathology is neurodental in nature or due to the action of external factors.

Local factors for the development of numbness:

• unsanitized oral cavity;
• chronic injuries;
• malocclusion;
• the effects of anesthesia after visiting the dentist.

These factors influence local immunity and change it. In this regard, there is an accumulation of microorganism metabolites, which contribute to the formation of oxygen radicals and oxidation products that irritate the receptors. This leads to numb gum syndrome, which does not pose a threat to human health and disappears immediately after the irritant is removed.

Paresthesia not caused by external causes is a pathology associated with disturbances in metabolic processes caused by changes in the central and peripheral nervous system, or disturbances in microcirculation and vascular tone.

In this case, numb gums are a symptom of a possible serious disorder in the functioning of the body.

Ways to treat if the upper and lower jaw are numb

Treatment when the upper jaw or some teeth, such as the front teeth, go numb should be carried out taking into account the cause of the disease. Damage to the jaw nerve can also be eliminated non-surgically, it all depends on what factors caused it. The main condition for successful treatment is timely provision of assistance. Other treatment options are microsurgery, physiotherapy, and taking special medications.

If your teeth have been numb for more than three months, it will be difficult to restore their sensitivity. Therefore, the sooner you seek professional help, the better.

In addition to taking special medications, the doctor may prescribe physiotherapeutic techniques to the patient. Main options:

• electrophoresis of teeth with calcium (it is applied to the affected part of the face);
• UHF;
• dynamic currents;
• laser therapy. A similar technique can be used to eliminate caries. Find out more about laser treatment for caries here.

The treatment program in each case is drawn up individually, the doctor considers the advisability of using certain therapeutic techniques for a particular patient.

At the moment, different methods of treating the trigeminal nerve are used, and they all have their own characteristics. In the initial stages, anti-seizure medications are often prescribed to prevent the seizure from progressing. Doctors may prescribe antispasmodics, sedatives, and vascular medications.

Sometimes trigeminal neuralgia is treated with folk remedies - for example, amphibian knotweed decoction or yarrow infusion. You can target the affected area with a laser - this method is applied across the fields in the area where the nerve branches exit the skull, cutaneously.

Surgical treatment of trigeminal neuralgia is quite complex, and doctors do not agree on its effectiveness. The first method of surgical therapy consists of trephination of the cranial fossa from the back and restoration of the correct location of the roots relative to the arteries and veins.

During compression, they are separated - a gasket is placed between the spine and the vessels, which prevents the vessels from affecting the spine. But there is a nuance here - the effect of blood vessels on the nerve is not always the main cause of the disease, so such actions may simply not bring the desired results.

The second method of surgical therapy is percutaneous radiofrequency destruction of the roots. It involves the impact of thermal energy when high-frequency currents pass through biomaterials. This method has a number of advantages compared to the first - the main ones are low trauma and the use of local anesthesia, which means quick recovery.

Keep in mind that each person's reaction is individual and surgery does not always work.

It is precisely because of the high degree of trauma that surgical methods of treatment are used relatively rarely.

Consequences of a recession: what will happen if the problem is not solved

Almost all dental diseases, if ignored for a long time, first result in a loss of aesthetics, food getting into the spaces between the teeth, the development of an inflammatory process, mobility, and then the loss of teeth. And gum recession is no exception. As the thinning and loss of mucous membranes progress, the problems intensify:

• increased sensitivity and acute pain in the teeth in the area of ​​the gingival margin develops,
• exposed areas of the root are more susceptible to caries, which quickly reaches the inside of the tooth and affects the pulp,
• the risk of developing wedge-shaped defects increases,
• gums become swollen and inflamed or, on the contrary, become unnaturally light, whitish,
• Plaque is deposited faster at the roots, which over time expands the periodontal pockets and, among other troubles, gives a putrid odor from the mouth.

If the problem is not solved, you can lose all your teeth - they simply will have nothing to hold on to.
Also, the recession has psycho-emotional consequences. When the gum contour loses its attractiveness, a person's smile begins to appear unhealthy and completely unattractive. In addition, the teeth lengthen because... their roots are now also “included” in the smile zone. Large gaps (tremas) appear because the roots of the teeth are narrower. All this creates serious psychological barriers to communication.

Prevention

The causes of numbness are different, and all of them cannot be completely excluded. What you can do is to closely monitor your dental health and promptly prevent and treat caries.

In most cases, dental pathologies are asymptomatic and only a doctor can identify them.

Do not ignore the need for regular scheduled examinations and mineralization of teeth; seek qualified help at the first suspicion of a problem. Do not be negligent about your health - over time, numbness can cause various symptoms, including partial paralysis of the jaw. Moreover, in the early stages the problem can most often be solved fairly quickly with medication.

All methods of treating dental numbness are aimed at eliminating the symptoms rather than getting rid of the root cause that caused the problem.

Symptoms

The clinical picture of the pathology is associated with its type - primary or secondary.

Primary numbness occurs due to inflammation of the oral cavity or damage to nerve fibers.

If the gums are numb due to primary paresthesia, symptoms appear:

• burning;
• tingling;
• feeling of swollen gums;
• increased discomfort while eating;
• "crawling" feeling.

Other symptoms of numbness also include:

• exacerbation of symptoms by the end of the day;
• dry mouth;
• in some cases - weakening of taste buds.

Secondary numbness is characterized by:

• the presence of unpleasant sensations lasting from 2 days to several years;
• disappearance of tingling sensations when eating food;
• lack of effect from analgesics.

Secondary paresthesia occurs due to pathologies of organs and systems.

When is a doctor needed?

Does tooth numbness persist after implantation? Are you worried about tingling in your mouth? These are some of the main signs of nerve damage, which requires urgent attention to a specialist. You should also consult your doctor if you have the following problems:

• intense pain when chewing and talking,
• decreased sensitivity of lips and tongue,
• difficulty swallowing,
• bleeding gums,
• increased salivation,
• violation of facial expressions,
• feeling of implant mobility.

The dentist will determine the cause of the problems and help eliminate them. If a nerve is damaged, it is necessary to act promptly. If measures are not taken promptly, numbness may persist for several months.

Homeopathy for the treatment of numbness of teeth and gums

Photo 2: Homeopathic medicines can improve blood circulation in the problem area, enhance tissue nutrition, promote nerve regeneration, and restore sensitivity. Source: flickr (Sergey Grigor).

Why does numbness in the upper or lower jaw persist after implant installation?

Often, after placing an implant, temporary complications arise in the form of loss of sensitivity, aching pain, bleeding and redness of the gums, swelling - all this is a normal reaction to surgery. Usually paresthesia goes away without a trace after 3-5 hours, all other symptoms - after 4-6 days.

There is no need to delay a visit to the doctor if numbness lasts more than five hours . It can occur either due to the effect of anesthesia or due to:

• poor preparation for surgery, incorrect selection of implants, the site of their integration;
• injuries of the mandibular trigeminal nerve.

Anesthesia during surgery

Numbness prevents you from feeling pain during surgery. Achieved by administering anesthetic drugs. If sensitivity returns and the procedure has not yet come to an end, the drug is added to prolong the effect of local anesthesia.

In rare cases, a substance used for pain relief or improperly administered anesthesia can cause longer-term numbness - up to six months.