Facial and Dental Injuries from a car crash

Does anyone really like going to the dentist?

I’m going to assume the answer is no.

But what if you were injured in a car accident and your injuries included facial and dental injuries that require multiple visits to dentists, oral surgeons, and even maxillofacial surgeons?

The first thing anyone sees when they meet you is your face and smile and that can be destroyed or even permanently disfigured in an instant in a car accident.

Injuries to the face can include broken bones, facial fractures, soft tissue and nerve damage.

These injuries can be permanent and last a lifetime.

The pain can be debilitating both physically and emotionally.

You may not think you need an attorney after a car accident where you sustain facial or dental injuries, but having an experienced law firm on your side is crucial to getting you the settlement you deserve.

With over 40 years in the Las Vegas community The Richard Harris Law Firm has helped tens of thousands of car accident victims recover damages after being left with facial and dental injuries.

We will fight for our clients to get the compensation you deserve today.

Call us today for immediate answers.

Causes of Facial Injury

There are many scenarios that can cause facial injuries in a car accident.

This can include many factors such as speed or if the car was hit by another vehicle or another object like a pole or a tree.

Were the passengers restrained by seat belts, also does the vehicle have airbags or not all play a role in whether or not a victim suffers facial and dental injuries in an accident.

Facial bone fractures- These can result from hitting something directly with your face like being thrown forward into the steering wheel. Another example is if you are hit by an object like the driver side airbag.
Eye injuries- These mostly occur due to broken glass in your eye from flying glass at the impact of the crash. Getting glass removed from your eye is extremely painful and scary.
Facial lacerations- Cut and bruises to the face happens from debris flying into your face during the accident.
Significant facial trauma- This can occur when a victim is thrown on from the vehicle during the accident.
Severe facial burns- Burns are a common injury during an auto accident.
Facial deformities- These are soft tissue injuries and abrasions that cause permanent facial deformities that can be permanent or take years to treat. These usually happen when a victim is involved in a motorcycle accident.

car accident facial injuries

Types of Car Accident Facial Injuries

When facial or dental injuries occur in a car accident there are usually multiple injuries at the same time, this is a common occurrence during a car accident.

Soft tissue injuries- Soft tissue injuries can range from small cuts and lacerations to neurovascular complications. Treatment for lacerations can be anything from some stitches to facial surgery all depending on how severe the injuries are.

There are several large nerves in the face that control movement and send information about touch and pain. If any of these nerves are damaged during an accident the facial nerves can be damaged causing the facial muscles to be paralyzed and may require immediate surgery to prevent permanent facial paralysis.

If you received abrasions or lacerations during an accident you should seek medical attention immediately. Wounds to the face need to be treated right away and cleaning the wounds properly is the immediate issue to avoid infection that can complicate healing.

Facial Fractures- The most common broken bone in the face is the nose by far but during a car accident many other bones can be broken as well, including the cheek and jaw bones. This happens when you hit the steering wheel or are hit with objects. Believe it or not the airbag on the driver side can also cause broken facial bones.

Broken facial bones are very painful and bruise easily with significant swelling. An X-ray is the only way to confirm a facial fracture.

So again seeking medical attention is crucial to diagnose facial fractures.

Broken facial bones can be life threatening if they affect your ability to breath or if the broken bones pierce through the skin also known as a compound fracture.

Compound fractures to the face or fractures like nose breaks that affect breathing require immediate medical attention and even surgery to correct the damage.

If you are searching for a “personal injury lawyer near me” then call Richard Harris Law Firm.

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Traumatic Brain Injuries

Brain injuries are common in severe car accidents and can have lifelong consequences for the victims of the accident.

A (TBI) Traumatic Brain Injury can affect the victims ability to take care of themselves without 24 hour care.

The injuries can immediately be seen or in rare cases they can show up several days or weeks later.

Some symptoms of even a mild brain injury are dizziness, nausea or vomiting from vertigo, severe mood swings, and light sensitivity are common effects of traumatic brain injuries.

Even though all brain injuries are considered serious, traumatic brain injuries can result in seizures, agitation, coma, and persistent headaches.

These side effects can last a lifetime and require constant care for the victim.

Facial Burns

Permanent facial scarring can occur if the accident victims are burned during the accident.

The long term effects of facial burns can be permanent disfigurement and scarring.

Whether or not someone can make a full recovery depends on many factors including how bad the injuries are, genetics, and how fast treatment began.

The risk of infection to burns is the most common problem since burn victims are more susceptible.

Extensive surgeries or skin grafting over a long period of time may be required to repair the damage from facial burns.

Someone who is severely scarred or burned from an accident is likely to suffer from significant emotional trauma including PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

In most cases burn victims may never get the appearance back that they had prior to the accident.

Healing from Facial and Dental Injuries

Facial and dental injuries after an accident can require both short and long term care to begin the healing process and both must be taken into consideration.

Immediate Medical Care

All accident victims should seek medical treatment immediately after the accident.

Even if you think you don’t need medical attention you may have injuries that you are not aware of or that you can’t see.

Facial and dental injuries are often first treated at the emergency room to get the treatment started.

This may require seeing a specialist to repair facial injuries.

In most cases people will be admitted to the hospital after the accident.

The long journey to treat facial injuries

Dental and facial accident injuries are unique in the fact that they may require several months of treatments to several years to repair.

The costs can be hundreds of thousands of dollars.

For example, a dental implant to replace a broken tooth can range in price from $3000 to $8000 per tooth and can take up to 1 year to complete.

That’s for just one implant so you can imagine what multiple surgeries would cost.

These types of car accidents can happen in a Lyft, hit by an Amazon truck, or even while riding in a limo.

Don’t wait for the insurance companies to help, call us today.

Long Term Side Effects of Facial Injuries

The costs of medical treatment are immense and we can’t even envision the costs of multiple reconstructive surgeries to fix facial injuries.

When injured in an accident you may have other vital organ injuries that may require treatment to save your life so your facial injuries may be placed on the back burner and delay the repair or healing process.

With more severe injuries like burns or broken cheek bones the treatment may require long and costly treatments involving plastic surgeries, skin grafts, and dental reconstruction.

These medical treatments take time and money.

With lacerations and abrasions you may need some stitches and some antibiotics to prevent infections.

After they heal you still may need some minor plastic surgery to repair the scars.

In some cases these can cause permanent scars, and remember there is a statute of limitations in Nevada.

Burns are usually the most severe and disfiguring of accident injuries to the face.

Some burn scarring will never be healed even after plastic surgeries and you may be left permanently disfigured.

Healing from medical treatments like plastic surgeries sometimes requires weeks or months of pain and healing.

This can require pain medication, bandages, bandage changes, and even home health care like a home nurse.

Getting immediate medical attention is one way to minimize complications later on as you’ll be dealing with things like lost wages and insurance adjusters for months to come.