Lawyers for NYC Dental Nerve Injuries

Nerve damage is a serious injury caused by dental malpractice. At Rich & Rich, P.C., we have obtained significant compensation for clients who suffered serious injuries to the nerves in the jaw that affect the tongue, gums, teeth, lips and chin.  For more than 20 years, we’ve provided aggressive representation for our New York clients, and have established an extensive track record — including obtaining what is thought to be the highest jury verdict on record nationally for a young woman who suffered a severed lingual nerve at the hands of her oral surgeon during a lower wisdom tooth extraction as well as a high six-figure settlement for another.

The most common dental nerve injuries affect the lingual nerve and the inferior alveolar nerve.

  • The complete transection of the lingual nerve results in permanent complete anesthesia, permanent loss of taste and profound mechanical allodynia (neuropathic pain characterized by shooting electric shock pain when the area is touched) on the affected side of the tongue and mouth. Injuries to the lingual nerve can result in permanent painful numbness, loss of taste, drooling and impaired speech. Furthermore, injuries to these nerves may damage your ability to work and socialize and may cause sleep impairment due to pain.
  • The inferior alveolar nerve is a sensory nerve which provides sensation (such as to touch, heat, cold and pain) to the chin and lower lip as well as the buccal gingiva (gums on the cheek side) of the lower front teeth and the premolars. Injury to the inferior alveolar nerve usually results in chronic pain and permanent numbness to the lower lip, chin and gingiva on the affected side, often described as a painfully numb feeling.

Nerve damage during a dental or oral surgery procedure can occur for a number of reasons:

  • Lower wisdom tooth extractions performed negligently
  • Dental implant negligently placed
  • Negligent, improper extraction of the third molars (the “wisdom teeth”)
  • Trauma from improperly placed implants
  • Injecting anesthesia directly into the nerve
  • Injecting anesthesia close enough to the nerve to exert pressure
  • Trauma or tearing from tooth extractions
  • Requiring the patient to hyperextend the jaw for a prolonged period
  • Failure to refer an injured patient to a specialist

Rich and Rich can help you to obtain compensation for dental nerve injuries and the expenses incurred as a result of dental malpractice. Let our New York City attorneys fight for you to obtain the compensation you may be entitled to.

Don’t wait. Contact Rich & Rich P.C. today.

Call 212-406-0440 or contact Rich and Rich, P.C. today. We have two office locations to serve you:

  • Manhattan Office:  1430 Broadway, Suite 1802, New York, NY 10018
  • Long Island Office: 277 Willis Avenue, 1st Floor, Roslyn Heights, NY 11577