hi, I am new to the boards. Hope someone can help. Yesterday, I had my upper left wisdom tooth removed. When the oral surgeon was injecting me with the novacaine my cheek immediately puffed out the size of a golf ball. He said he hit a vessel and caused a hematoma. I am now still quite swollen and he said I will soon bruise and that may last 3 to 4 weeks! Has anyone else heard of this. I am freaking out. It still feels tight and numb. I have searched the boards and have not really seen anything like this. Is this common or am I just special?? Thank You!

Don't be alarmed. There are blood vessels everywhere. When an injection is given, all the blood vessels cannod be seen. If an artery is nicked, it bleeds into the tissue. The bleeding stops, but not after a fair amount of blood has entered the tissue and caused the swelling you are experiencing. It doesn't happen very often, but does happen sometimes. It is no reflection upon the dentist, he did nothing wrong, it just happened. After 48 hours, you can apply warm compresses over the ares to try to get the swelling do go down quicker. Wait the 48 hours, though since you don't want to increase the bleeding. Mostly, it will be your body needing to get rid of the blood in the tissues. You'll probably get a little yellow and bruised looking. Nothing to be alarmed about.

Thanks for the reply. It makes me feel better that someone else has heard of this since everyone I ask about it has no clue! You are right, I am slowly starting to bruise, although I am still slightly swollen. It is also very tender in my cheek area. I guess I'll just have to give it time. I will also try warm compresses since it has been 3 days since the removal. Thanks again!