Loss Of Taste: Have You Suffered Nerve Damage In A Dental Procedure?

If you're a chef or wine taster, a loss of taste could be catastrophic for you professionally. Whether or not you're a gourmand, a loss of taste is a loss of daily enjoyment of food. 

Although a loss of taste is rare, numerous causes could be implicated in your desensitized taste buds. If you notice a loss of taste directly following a dental visit, you may have suffered a dental injury. Several dental procedures can cause a loss of taste.

Nerve Damage  

A loss (ageusia) or alteration (dysgeusia) of taste can have many causes. They include head injury, medication, sinus and fungal infections, and dental injury. Dentists can cause nerve damage while performing various dental procedures. 

If your dentist hits a nerve, the damage could be temporary but unfortunately could also be permanent. Symptoms of nerve damage include pain (often piercing), tingling, and numbness in the tongue, cheeks, jaws, and surrounding areas. Depending on the nerves involved, you may also lose your sense of taste. 

Such was the case of a 12-year-old girl who recently suffered nerve damage during the extraction of her wisdom teeth. The dentist severed the lingual nerve, resulting in 100 percent sensory perception loss of taste, as well as long-term discomfort and pain. The judge awarded the plaintiff over $600,000 in the dental medical malpractice suit.

Anesthesia

Both the anesthetic and the needle during injection can cause nerve damage leading to loss of taste. Damage often takes place during the process of anesthesia block injections, which involve injecting anesthesia to numb parts of the mouth and face. 

Although rare, dentists can incorrectly insert needles. The dentist may have a poor technique or be careless, the patient may suddenly move, or a low-quality needle may break. 

A lesser-know