mayasutton,

What was the reason he suggested to remove the wisdom tooth in the first place and did he inform you that the roots were close to the "nerve" before he attempted the extraction? Did he take an xray of this area after he removed the crown portion and attempted to remove the roots?

I ask all of these questions because it helps to visualize and piece together the history of this tooth and surgery, etc. Generally an oral surgeon will not leave roots of a tooth in the bone because he knows of the increased risk of infection. There really needs to be extenuating circumstances, usually anatomically, for an oral surgeon to think that is the best option. As a side note.... A general dentist tends to leave roots because he is leery of pushing them further into the bone or traumatizing the bone severely enough to result in nerve damage. So you are sure he was an oral surgeon, right?