What Causes Nerve Pain in the Mouth?

Nerve Pain

Common types of nerve pain you may experience in the mouth can come from your taste and sensory nerves (burning mouth syndrome), inferior alveolar nerve located in the lower jaw, skin of the chin and lower lip, or in your lingual nerve, which descends to the tongue and under the mucous membrane of the mouth.

According to the Mayo Clinic, the pain in your taste and sensory nerves may be related to problems with your peripheral or central nervous system or a medical condition.

Common types of pain related to the lingual and alveolar nerve occur from injections of anesthesia, extraction of a wisdom tooth, abscess from decay, and a fractured filling or tooth exposing the nerve.

Symptoms associated with your taste and sensory nerves or burning mouth syndrome include burning sensation, tingling and numbness, dry mouth, sore mouth, and loss of taste. Symptoms associated with lingual and alveolar nerve injuries include tingling and numbness, pain in the tongue and lip, and/or pain around the specific nerve area.

Assessment and treatment of any injury should be performed by your physician or specialist. According to the Mayo Clinic, there is no known cure for burning mouth syndrome, and surgery is not recommended. Treatments that can help reduce and manage your pain include medication (Klonopin), alpha-lipoc acid, an antioxidant produced naturally by the body, and vitamin B.

After an injury to the lingual or alveolar nerve, seek medical attention immediately. Sometimes, the nerve heals itself in 10 to 12 weeks. Chronic pain can develop over time, and micro neurosurgical techniques may be used to correct serious injuries if they don't heal within 12 weeks.

The Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of California performed vein graph surgery on the alveolar nerve, short lingual nerve and long lingual nerve of patients who had injuries. They concluded that surgery on the alveolar nerve was successful and nerve regeneration occurred. Surgery on the short lingual nerve was successful with some nerve regeneration occurring, but not 100 percent. The surgery with the long lingual nerve was not successful, and there was no nerve regeneration. This was associated with the length and position of the long lingual nerve.