Lingual nerve damage / wisdom tooth extraction lower left side

i had my lower left wisdom tooth extracted on monday of this week. since, i can not feel the entire left side of my tongue. the dentist reffered me to an oral and maxofaciall surgeon in spokane wa who did a simple nerve test which consisted of using 4 instruments to determine sensation in the left side of my tongue. upon completion of this exam he determined that i basically failed the 4 part test with no sensation he stated my unjury was dense.  I was referred to this oral surgeon by the dentist who injured my nerve. The oral surgeons care plan will be wait 3 weeks for the nerve to possibly fire on their own, in the mean time do nothing but wait it out. He suggested i get a mouth guard for night time so i wont continue to keep biting myself. he said the left side of my tongue looked like hamburger. He said the only way to determine if nerve damage is there is by exploratory surgery, he said there are specialists in oregon and seattle that he would reffer me to in 3 weeks if i have not gained any sensation back. I asked him about time frames and windows of opportunity for nerve repair, he stated that you have a 3 month period intially in which nerve repair should be diagnosed and treated and that 6 months is the max timeframe for succesfull healing.

so questions i have are :

1. should i get a second opinion and is there any recommendations for the Seattle area or Spokane area in Washington?

2. Is is safe to wait three weeks for the nerves to fire on their own or am i wasting precious time when i should be seeking other treatments?

3. Should any other therapies be prescribed at this time such as low dose antiinflamitory pills or something else?

4. Is the only way to determine nerve damage through exporatory surgeries or is there another more non invasive way to determine this?


thanks for anyones time in considering my issues!!! Tia

[scottma]

Early intervention of pharmacologic magagement may be benificial for traumatic trigeminal neuropathy. Seeing a neurologist or orofacial pain specialist is advised.

[Sam175]

A related discussion, Nerve Damage-Wisdom Teeth was started.