Numbness and gap in the bone

[whiteteeth]

I had lower jaw surgery a few years ago for correcting my overbite and I was left with partial numbness on one of the sides of my chin and lower lip. My sensation improved a bit since the time right after the surgery, but it's still far away from what it used to be. I noticed that on the same side that I feel numbness, the lower part of the jaw bone has a small gap exactly on the point where it was cut. If I touch that gap, I get an uncomfortable feeling like if I was touching the nerve directly. This gap doesn't exist on the other side of my jaw, but I can feel the line where the bone was cut if I look carefully for it. I asked my doctor about it and they said it was normal. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

[elysium87]

Most likely there has been some bone resorption around the point that the bone was cut. The exact  same thing has happened to me on one side due to the surgeon not tightening one of the screws in the bone plate. I had resorption around the osteotomy site due to this. I had a revision surgery and he removed the plates and there has been some recovery of bone.

[GJ]

Changed nerve sensations are normal. But what you're describing doesn't sound normal to me. Research pinched nerve (maybe the hardware is irritating it?). Also, maybe get another opinion and some scans to see what's going on.

[whiteteeth]

Also, maybe get another opinion

That's a simple action I hadn't thought about doing. Thanks for the advice.