numb tongue - wisdom extraction

I had my wisdom teeth(4) extracted 2 days ago. My tongue is very swollen and numb. My surgeon says it is because they touched the nerves to ensure they dont cut them. Can this be caused by only touching the nerves or are the nerves damaged, and how long will this numbness last because I keep biting my tongue when eating?

[Jerome Tsang, DDS]

You should bring your concerns up with your dentist/oral surgeon.  Depending on what happens, it can heal itself soon or it can be permanent.  If it doesn't resolve itself in approximately 6 months, its most likely going to be a permanent situation.  Since its only two days ago, there's alot of time left for it to heal up.  If they said they touched the nerves, I'm assuming that means that they didn't do any damage to the nerve itself (such as cutting it or tearing it) but that because of the forces used to extract the wisdom teeth, there may be some trauma from the pushing/pulling that may have bruised the nerve and is causing the numbness.  I would monitor the situation and see how much improvement you get in the coming week.