Carol Russell, a 46-year-old clerical assistant from Birmingham, hasn’t been able to kiss her children for over five years. A constant burning pain in her chin and the right side of her face means the devoted mother has had to avoid any kind of close physical contact with her loved ones. What compounds Carol’s distress is that it was a routine operation to extract a wisdom tooth that left her in this state. Carol Russell, 46, from Birmingham, was left with permanent nerve damage after several operations on her wisdom teeth that left her in agony for six years. She has since received compensation from South Birmingham Primary Care Trust . During the procedure six years ago, the dentist damaged the inferior dental nerve, which provides sensation to the lip and chin. ‘It has been an absolutely horrendous time,’ says Carol. ‘I’m in pain all the time. I find eating really difficult and the worst thing is that I can’t bear contact anywhere near my face including hugging and kissing.’ That means her daughter Laura, 27, son Richard, 24, and her partner, Glenn, can’t go near her. She says: ‘I’ve been on ever-increasing doses of painkillers and none has worked. The only way I get any temporary relief is with a pain patch on my chin.’ This contains drugs that seep into the skin and block pain. ‘But it has to stay on at least 12 hours a day to have any effect.’ The problem is that wisdom teeth can lie very close to the inferior dental nerve, explains St John Crean, professor of medicine in dentistry at the University of Central Lancashire. He says damage can be avoided if ‘a decent enough X-ray is given before the procedure goes ahead’. He points out: ‘It’s not enough for a dentist to give an internal X-ray in the mouth as that only shows a small area — it needs to be a good panoramic one. Even then, if the dentist is even slightly unsure of where this nerve lies, they need to refer the patient to a specialised dental surgeon who should take a CT scan before going ahead.’ Wisdom teeth, found at the back of the mouth, are the last four teeth to come through — usually in our late teens or early 20s. There isn’t always room for them to grow, so they can emerge at an angle or only partially break through - when they are described as ‘impacted’. Food and bacteria can become trapped around the tooth, causing a build-up of plaque, and decay and infection. Problems can occur years after the teeth have erupted. Wisdom teeth extraction is one of the most common procedures carried out in the UK. In England alone, 63,000 are extracted each year in NHS hospitals . Wisdom tooth extraction is one  of the most common procedures carried out in the UK - in England alone, 63,000 are extracted each year in NHS hospitals. Yet it is a potentially complex operation, carrying the risk of nerve damage, infection and bleeding. Under guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, ‘only patients who have diseased wisdom teeth, or other problems with their mouth, should have their wisdom teeth removed’. Dentists don’t need specialist training to perform an extraction but some prefer to refer patients to a specialist oral or dental surgeon. Carol’s problems began after she suffered several minor infections in her lower right jaw over a two-and-a-half year period. Her dentist suggested a wisdom tooth was the cause and referred her to a hospital dental surgeon in October 2008. An X-ray confirmed the problem and the following month the tooth was removed. But almost immediately afterwards, it was clear something was very wrong. ‘For three days my face was a balloon, and I had this terrible pressure,’ Carol recalls. While the swelling subsided, ‘as the days went by I felt this throbbing pain building in my face and chin’. Despite repeated visits to the hospital over the next few months, Carol was told her symptoms were normal — and was given increasing doses of pain relief. ‘It was getting impossible to do anything normal and  I begged for help. I could even feel pain if I brushed cotton wool against my face. Yet all the time I was told things would be fine.’ Finally, in May 2009, she had surgery for what she was told was a damaged nerve. It left her in agony for three weeks, with a bruised and battered-looking face. ‘It was the most awful time, I couldn’t work and lived on painkillers,’ she says. Then in May 2010, nearly 18 months after the extraction, Carol had an operation to remove scar tissue, which was thought to be compounding the pain. But this made no difference, and she was told the nerve damage was permanent. Carol, pictured here, has received £15,000 from South Birmingham Primary Care Trust but she says she would give it all back to be rid of the pain she still suffers . ‘I was devastated. I just couldn’t believe all this was happening to me,’ she says. She went back to her dentist, who referred her to a different NHS . surgeon — he said she should have had a CT scan at the start; this would . have revealed how close the teeth were to the nerve, and a different . procedure could have been offered. It’s . a depressingly familiar scenario, says Luke Cascarini, a consultant . oral surgeon at BMI The Sloane Hospital and the North-West London NHS . Hospital Trust. ‘If . the nerve is too close then the patient should have a coronectomy — . where we remove the crown, but leave the root, preventing damage to . associated nerves.’ There . is also a question of whether extraction is advisable, especially as we . age. As Dr Jeremy Hill, of The Ware Centre of Dental Excellence in . Hertfordshire, says: ‘If a patient has them taken out in their late . teens then the jawbones are still quite flexible, which makes extraction . easier. 'But by their 30s or 40s, the jawbone has matured so it’s a lot . more difficult.’ Becky Dickinson found this out in January, when her  dentist yanked out her wisdom tooth. The mother-of-three from Addlestone, Surrey, had been told she needed the procedure because her wisdom tooth was impacted, and had probably caused a couple of minor infections. ‘I was given a local anaesthetic, but the dentist just couldn’t seem to get the tooth out. He was pulling and tugging and I could feel the most intense pressure. ‘In the end he had to chisel into the bone. My head felt like it was going to explode and the nurse had to hold me still. I was terrified.’ Once the tooth was out, over the next few days Becky, 40, was in so much pain she ended up in A&E. She was diagnosed with dry socket, where a blood clot fails to develop in the tooth socket — which affects 5 to 10 per cent of patients. This . exposes the nerve, causing unbearable pain. ‘There was nothing that . could be done other than let the tissue heal over the nerve,’ recalls . Becky. ‘I lived on painkillers for three months. 'My children are only . one, four and seven and it was so hard to do anything. I couldn’t sleep . because of the pain.‘Yet no one told me it could be like this, or . set out the pros and cons before the procedure. I’d been made to feel . wisdom teeth were a breeze.’ It’s . important to make sure you need the operation, stresses Mr Cascarini. ‘With problems such as repeated infections, it may well be that removing . them is necessary. Wisdom teeth, found at the back of the mouth, are the last four teeth to come through ¿ usually in our late teens or early 20s. There isn't always room for them to grow, so they can emerge at an angle or only partially break through - when they are described as 'impacted' 'However, . sometimes they are blamed unnecessarily when the teeth start to overlap . at the front. Some dentists believe it’s because they’re being pushed . by wisdom teeth — even if the teeth are deeply buried and there’s no . sign of decay. It’s far more likely that this overlapping is caused by . “anterior drift”, a movement of the teeth which is  simply part of the . ageing process.’ Mr Cascarini also says you need to ask how many of these extractions your dentist does a month. ‘I do ten a week and have done for 20 years. It needs to be done by someone with experience. And don’t be afraid to ask the dentist how long they take — even a complex tooth shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes — and how near to the nerve the wisdom tooth lies.’ Carol has since has received £15,000 from South Birmingham Primary Care Trust after the Dental Law Partnership negotiated an out- of-court settlement. Yet she says she would give it all back to be rid of the pain she still suffers. ‘I just wish I’d never had my  wisdom teeth out. Whatever they were trying to resolve is nothing  like the complications I have now.’
Without proper scans of teeth, there is a danger of permanent nerve damage .
Carol Russell, 46, from Birmingham, can't even kiss her children .
Her wisdom tooth was removed in 2008 but several operations couldn't stop the pain .
Wisdom .
tooth extraction is one of the most common procedures in .
the UK .
Carol Russell, a 46-year-old clerical assistant from Birmingham, hasn’t been able to kiss her children for over five years. A constant burning pain in her chin and the right side of her face means the devoted mother has had to avoid any kind of close physical contact with her loved ones. What compounds Carol’s distress is that it was a routine operation to extract a wisdom tooth that left her in this state. Carol Russell, 46, from Birmingham, was left with permanent nerve damage after several operations on her wisdom teeth that left her in agony for six years. She has since received compensation from South Birmingham Primary Care Trust . During the procedure six years ago, the dentist damaged the inferior dental nerve, which provides sensation to the lip and chin. ‘It has been an absolutely horrendous time,’ says Carol. ‘I’m in pain all the time. I find eating really difficult and the worst thing is that I can’t bear contact anywhere near my face including hugging and kissing.’ That means her daughter Laura, 27, son Richard, 24, and her partner, Glenn, can’t go near her. She says: ‘I’ve been on ever-increasing doses of painkillers and none has worked. The only way I get any temporary relief is with a pain patch on my chin.’ This contains drugs that seep into the skin and block pain. ‘But it has to stay on at least 12 hours a day to have any effect.’ The problem is that wisdom teeth can lie very close to the inferior dental nerve, explains St John Crean, professor of medicine in dentistry at the University of Central Lancashire. He says damage can be avoided if ‘a decent enough X-ray is given before the procedure goes ahead’. He points out: ‘It’s not enough for a dentist to give an internal X-ray in the mouth as that only shows a small area — it needs to be a good panoramic one. Even then, if the dentist is even slightly unsure of where this nerve lies, they need to refer the patient to a specialised dental surgeon who should take a CT scan before going ahead.’ Wisdom teeth, found at the back of the mouth, are the last four teeth to come through — usually in our late teens or early 20s. There isn’t always room for them to grow, so they can emerge at an angle or only partially break through - when they are described as ‘impacted’. Food and bacteria can become trapped around the tooth, causing a build-up of plaque, and decay and infection. Problems can occur years after the teeth have erupted. Wisdom teeth extraction is one of the most common procedures carried out in the UK. In England alone, 63,000 are extracted each year in NHS hospitals . Wisdom tooth extraction is one of the most common procedures carried out in the UK - in England alone, 63,000 are extracted each year in NHS hospitals. Yet it is a potentially complex operation, carrying the risk of nerve damage, infection and bleeding. Under guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, ‘only patients who have diseased wisdom teeth, or other problems with their mouth, should have their wisdom teeth removed’. Dentists don’t need specialist training to perform an extraction but some prefer to refer patients to a specialist oral or dental surgeon. Carol’s problems began after she suffered several minor infections in her lower right jaw over a two-and-a-half year period. Her dentist suggested a wisdom tooth was the cause and referred her to a hospital dental surgeon in October 2008. An X-ray confirmed the problem and the following month the tooth was removed. But almost immediately afterwards, it was clear something was very wrong. ‘For three days my face was a balloon, and I had this terrible pressure,’ Carol recalls. While the swelling subsided, ‘as the days went by I felt this throbbing pain building in my face and chin’. Despite repeated visits to the hospital over the next few months, Carol was told her symptoms were normal — and was given increasing doses of pain relief. ‘It was getting impossible to do anything normal and  I begged for help. I could even feel pain if I brushed cotton wool against my face. Yet all the time I was told things would be fine.’ Finally, in May 2009, she had surgery for what she was told was a damaged nerve. It left her in agony for three weeks, with a bruised and battered-looking face. ‘It was the most awful time, I couldn’t work and lived on painkillers,’ she says. Then in May 2010, nearly 18 months after the extraction, Carol had an operation to remove scar tissue, which was thought to be compounding the pain. But this made no difference, and she was told the nerve damage was permanent. Carol, pictured here, has received £15,000 from South Birmingham Primary Care Trust but she says she would give it all back to be rid of the pain she still suffers . ‘I was devastated. I just couldn’t believe all this was happening to me,’ she says. She went back to her dentist, who referred her to a different NHS . surgeon — he said she should have had a CT scan at the start; this would . have revealed how close the teeth were to the nerve, and a different . procedure could have been offered. It’s . a depressingly familiar scenario, says Luke Cascarini, a consultant . oral surgeon at BMI The Sloane Hospital and the North-West London NHS . Hospital Trust. ‘If . the nerve is too close then the patient should have a coronectomy — . where we remove the crown, but leave the root, preventing damage to . associated nerves.’ There . is also a question of whether extraction is advisable, especially as we . age. As Dr Jeremy Hill, of The Ware Centre of Dental Excellence in . Hertfordshire, says: ‘If a patient has them taken out in their late . teens then the jawbones are still quite flexible, which makes extraction . easier. 'But by their 30s or 40s, the jawbone has matured so it’s a lot . more difficult.’ Becky Dickinson found this out in January, when her  dentist yanked out her wisdom tooth. The mother-of-three from Addlestone, Surrey, had been told she needed the procedure because her wisdom tooth was impacted, and had probably caused a couple of minor infections. ‘I was given a local anaesthetic, but the dentist just couldn’t seem to get the tooth out. He was pulling and tugging and I could feel the most intense pressure. ‘In the end he had to chisel into the bone. My head felt like it was going to explode and the nurse had to hold me still. I was terrified.’ Once the tooth was out, over the next few days Becky, 40, was in so much pain she ended up in A&E. She was diagnosed with dry socket, where a blood clot fails to develop in the tooth socket — which affects 5 to 10 per cent of patients. This . exposes the nerve, causing unbearable pain. ‘There was nothing that . could be done other than let the tissue heal over the nerve,’ recalls . Becky. ‘I lived on painkillers for three months. 'My children are only . one, four and seven and it was so hard to do anything. I couldn’t sleep . because of the pain.‘Yet no one told me it could be like this, or . set out the pros and cons before the procedure. I’d been made to feel . wisdom teeth were a breeze.’ It’s . important to make sure you need the operation, stresses Mr Cascarini. ‘With problems such as repeated infections, it may well be that removing . them is necessary. Wisdom teeth, found at the back of the mouth, are the last four teeth to come through ¿ usually in our late teens or early 20s. There isn't always room for them to grow, so they can emerge at an angle or only partially break through - when they are described as 'impacted' 'However, . sometimes they are blamed unnecessarily when the teeth start to overlap . at the front. Some dentists believe it’s because they’re being pushed . by wisdom teeth — even if the teeth are deeply buried and there’s no . sign of decay. It’s far more likely that this overlapping is caused by . “anterior drift”, a movement of the teeth which is  simply part of the . ageing process.’ Mr Cascarini also says you need to ask how many of these extractions your dentist does a month. ‘I do ten a week and have done for 20 years. It needs to be done by someone with experience. And don’t be afraid to ask the dentist how long they take — even a complex tooth shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes — and how near to the nerve the wisdom tooth lies.’ Carol has since has received £15,000 from South Birmingham Primary Care Trust after the Dental Law Partnership negotiated an out- of-court settlement. Yet she says she would give it all back to be rid of the pain she still suffers. ‘I just wish I’d never had my  wisdom teeth out. Whatever they were trying to resolve is nothing like the complications I have now.’
that left her in this state. Carol Russell, 46, from Birmingham, was left with permanent nerve damage after several operations on her wisdom erupted. Wisdom teeth extraction is one of the most common procedures carried out in the UK. In NHS hospitals . Wisdom tooth extraction is one of the most common procedures carried out in the month the tooth was removed. But almost