The nerve zaps were the worst—like little static shocks outta nowhere.
Totally get what you mean about those nerve zaps. I kept thinking, “Did I just pay all this money to feel like I stuck my face in an outlet?” Eating was a hassle for me, too. Cold stuff was actually worse than hot, which surprised me. I was also super paranoid about biting my cheek since I couldn’t feel half of it. Honestly, I started questioning if the cost was worth it, but after a few weeks things did settle down. The weird sensations faded, and now I barely notice anything. If you’re worried about the price, I’d say just hang in there—it’s rough at first, but it does get better.
I had no idea the nerve zaps were so common after this kind of thing. I thought I was just being dramatic, but reading your post makes me feel a little less ridiculous. The “face in an outlet” thing is so accurate it hurts (pun intended). I kept flinching every time I tried to drink anything colder than room temp, like my mouth was auditioning for a horror movie. I also had this weird tingling—almost like my face was waking up from being asleep, but it lasted for days.
The cheek biting paranoia is real, too. I actually did bite mine a couple of times and then spent the next hour googling “can you chew a hole in your own cheek” (answer: not easily, but it still freaked me out). I was really worried about the numbness sticking around forever. It felt like my mouth had its own weather system—random zaps, tingles, and the occasional rainstorm of drool when I tried to eat on the numb side.
You mentioned things settled down after a few weeks. That’s kind of reassuring, but I’m curious—did you ever have any weird taste or smell stuff going on? For a while, everything tasted metallic to me, which was gross and made eating even less fun. I’m still not sure if that was from the surgery or just my brain being weird. Also, did you do anything that seemed to help with the nerve stuff or did it just fade on its own? I tried ice packs, but honestly, I think they just made my face colder and more confused.
It’s wild how something as tiny as a root tip can cause so much chaos. I’m still waiting for my “feeling normal” moment, but it helps hearing that the weirdness doesn’t last forever.
My kid had this done a few months ago, and honestly, a lot of what you described sounds really familiar. The nerve zaps and tingling freaked her out at first, especially when drinking cold stuff. She also complained about everything tasting a bit off—she called it “metal mouth,” which I assumed was just the meds or maybe her body’s reaction to healing. We tried ice packs, but she said it mostly made things feel numb and weird, not really better. For her, most of the odd sensations faded after about three weeks. I wish there was a magic fix for the nerve stuff, but it just seemed to resolve on its own over time.
That “metal mouth” thing is actually pretty common after oral surgery, especially if there’s been any nerve involvement or meds in the mix. Did she have antibiotics? Sometimes those can mess with taste buds for a while. The nerve zaps and tingling you mentioned—yep, that lines up with what I see a lot. It’s basically the nerves waking back up after being irritated, and cold drinks can really set them off.
Three weeks for things to settle is pretty typical, but it can drag out a bit longer for some folks. Did she notice if the tingling got worse at night or when she was tired? That seems to be a pattern I hear about. Ice packs are hit or miss—some people swear by them, others just get more numb and annoyed. If the weird sensations had stuck around past a month, I’d probably want to check in just to be sure there’s no lingering infection or nerve issue, but sounds like she bounced back okay.
Out of curiosity, did she have any swelling or bruising that took longer to go away? Sometimes that can prolong the whole “not normal yet” feeling.
Metal mouth is the worst. I swear, after my root tip surgery, everything tasted like I’d been licking a handful of loose change for a week. It took maybe three-ish weeks for things to feel mostly normal, but the tingling and that weird zappy feeling would pop up out of nowhere—especially if I tried to have ice cream (which, of course, I did anyway because priorities).
I remember the swelling hung around way longer than I thought it would. My cheek looked like I was storing snacks for winter for at least ten days. Bruising faded pretty quick, but that “not quite my face” sensation stuck around until almost a month out. I did the ice pack thing and honestly, it just made me grumpy and cold. Warm compresses felt better for me, but my dentist gave me the side-eye about that.
Funny thing, I noticed the tingling got worse whenever I was tired or stressed out. Maybe it’s just nerves being dramatic? Anyway, glad to hear your person bounced back okay. Dental adventures are never boring...
