Is it normal to experience numbness after jaw and chin surgery?
Numbness is a completely normal phenomenon after operating the chin or jaw. Your mental nerves are “stretched” during the procedure and your gum, with all the small nerve branches, is incised during the approach. Sensitivity symptoms (paresthesia, numbness, even pain) may appear during the first 3-4 months, these symptoms will disappear gradually.
The main trunks exposed during the lower jaw and chin recontouring are the mentalis nerves. It is essential to understand that these nerves are sensitive nerves and not functional nerves, so they are not responsible for any facial movement but for the sensibility and sensation in certain areas of the lower lip and teeth. Their location is accurately detected in the facial scanner performed before every surgery.
We use a special triple approach to avoid damaging the nerves and to keep them surrounded by mucosa during the whole surgery. We also perform our osteotomies with piezosurgery, with ultrasonic vibration that only cuts bone, respecting the soft tissues.
However, the exposure and stretching of the mentalis nerves during the surgery may produce different degrees of temporary numbness or feeling alterations. This is extremely variable from patient to patient, so it is difficult to predict how your reaction is going to be after the surgery.