Not a bad idea to stop injections in the same region for a period of time to avoid irritating the injury while it is in the healing phase.

Hope that helps.

Ross

This may seem odd, but i have had exactly the same experience recently. My dentist had given me a "you're nuts" look when I told him. I am having my two back bottom right molars crowned at the same time. After experiencing pain during the grind down of both after the first round of novacaine, he hit me with another series of shots.

Sometime during those last few sticks I felt a tremendous flush of heat and a sudden tinge of pain radiate down the center and right side of my tongue. I knew something was different, but I didn't recognize what until the numbness in my face wore off, while a numb-like feeling remained in my tongue.

Here's what we have in common:

1) I have a numbness radiating in the right-side of my tongue.
2) Everything I eat has a tremendous salty taste, almost directly derived on the right-side. I even seem to taste it from my lips?

I thought I was crazy, or suffering from some weird malady. Thanks for your post.

It's been 2 weeks since the first sticks, and I have had work performed a week later for further prep of the crowns. while I still have some residual numbness, it is diminishing. However, the saltiness seems to remain. If I had to make a guess, soem neural remapping has occured from damage to the nerve.

I have some experience in this area fortunately, as my previous training was in biochemistry and human physiology in college. I feel strongly that given some time, our brains will re-learn to map the incoming signals that have been cross-mapped to reflect the salt-sensation.

God Bless, Jeff Antonson
jeff.antonson@catavo.com

You are not crazy. I have lived with BMS and this extreme salty taste for nearly a year. The skin in my mouth burns and actually exfoliates several times a day. All the doctores think I'm crazy too. I was having routine crown work done on several teeth and had one injection that caused me pain for weeks. I do believe this caused nerve damage and damage to the taste buds as well. I wish you well. You are not alone.

Chris

3 months and counting....

Phil, DMD

In January 2008 I had two crowns put on my teeth, back top and back bottom. The top one easy as can be, the bottom more difficult because of the tilt of my mouth and narrow spaces. I had an injection on the top tooth, which was wonderful, it was very minimal and my face barely felt numb. Different story with the bottom one. Half way through drilling down for the crown I started feeling the drilling. He stopped and gave me another shot, this shot I felt deep in the gum as it was put around the tooth. After the temporary crown was put on it tasted very metallic. After the final crown was on, same thing.

Within a few days all I could taste was salt, it was unbearable even my lips felt coated with salt. I spent most of my days chewing on animal crackers and drinking water and soda to try and get rid of the taste. My tongue was also numb still on the side where the injection was. I called my dentist, they told me I must be imagining it, must be something else. After coming to this website and seeing all the complaints I was so angry at them that I am not sure I will return for cleans in the future. All they had to do was admit what it was.

I called my GP and he referred me to a neurologist who knew exactly what it was and did all kinds of tests with lollipops (sweet taste etc) and told me that it was lingual nerve damage and that it appeared to be mildly bruised (affected) and that it could take up to a year to go away (hopefully).

It is now June and it is finally gone. There is the odd day or two when I will have mild salty lips but the tongue lost its numbness and the salt is more or less gone.

I am still angry at my dentist because of this, not that it happened I am sure he didn't do it on purpose, but that they didn't just tell what it was and that it would eventually restore. I think it is a legal liability fear they may have. Hundreds and thousands of people are undergoing this and dentists are stating "we are imagining it" etc. like we are children! Thank goodness for the information on the internet or I would doubt myself.

Dentists most certainly know what this is and what causes it, a lot are just not willing to confirm it to us.