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How Much are Tongues Worth?
chewedtoothpick asks: "How many of you have had dental work where they had to numb your tongue and everything? I did about six months ago and my tongue never became UN-numb. Aparently they hit a nerve, which seldom occurs and shouldn't happen according to a few dentists and a family member who is an oral surgeon. The dentist told me that it can take as long as six months to heal, but I have also heard from a few people which this has happened to; that if it's not normal within a couple of months that it will never come back. I know one lady who is a regular client at my shop who has had a numb tongue for almost 10 years! Luckily; in my case, this is only half of my tongue, so I am not completely impaired in speech or taste. What I do want to know is what would all or any of you do? Would you sue, and how much for? Would you demand a full refund for the dental work?"
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Theriouthly, I would thue the cwap out of any dentitht that put a thot in my tongue and made it numb. Any thtupid thod that thought he could get away with that and not get thued, would be theriothly mithtaken.
All jesting aside, I would do some serieous research of PAST cases of this happening, because it may or may not be a matter of malpractice. You really need to talk to a lawyer about this, not slashdot.
Nobodies Prefect
Tidbits for Techs Technology Blog
Several years ago, I was getting a cavity filled. The dentist started drilling, but I could feel them drilling, so I told him and he gave me a second shot of novacain (Or whatever it is they use). After the second shot, my whole jaw went numb for about a day, but after I got the feeling back everywhere else, I still had a numb spot about 2 inches in diameter on my chin. It lasted for about eight months before I finally got feeling back. So don't worry too much about it lasting over 6 months. Just when I thought I was never going to get feeling back in that part of my chin, I got it back.
people look different on the outside - they're also different on the inside. depending on the dental work you're having done, a dentist will inject anesthesia into different parts of your mouth based on how *most* people are built.
sometimes they miss and sometimes your nerves are wired differently. that's why a dentist checks to see if a location is numb before working - even if they got it exactly spot on where they were taught to get it, that might not be the right spot for that patient.
so yeah, it's a bummer you have a numb tongue. that must really suck. but it is a possible side effect. if it was me i wouldn't sue, it's not really the guy's fault from what i've been told in the past.
note, i'm not a dentist, but i worked in a dental school and some of the students and the staff would explain how things worked.
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You could be looking at a big settlement if you sue. In addition to the loss of taste and speaking ability, you can claim significant emotional damages if your girlfriend leaves you because you can't *ahem* satisfy her needs anymore. Being a regular slashdot reader will prove -- beyond a shadow of a doubt -- that you need to do everything in your power to hold on to any girlfriend that you might obtain by chance. Thus, the loss of fine motor control of your tongue could banish you to a life of living in your mother's downstairs basement!
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