How long does nerve damage from a dental implant take to heal?

Peripheral nerves have the ability to self heal.  This means that unless the nerve was completely severed then there is a potential for healing.  The vast majority of cases heal in the first 6 months.  You may go through stages of tingling and altered sensations, but the recovery is likely.  There are cases where the numbness persists.  In these rare cases the numbing feeling does not go away.  Having a second opinion is a great idea to try and see if something else can be done.  Usually time does what nothing else can.

That's a really good question and one that is tough to answer based on minimal information. It's complicated. Nerves take a long time to heal. Depending what you mean by nerve damage, either there was just excessive pulling on the mental nerve which can cause inflammation in the region and a transient temporary type of parasthesia OR the surgeon actually drilled into the inferior dental nerve (nicked the nerve) which may take many years to heal or severed the nerve which will not ever heal. Did the surgeon use a CAT scan to assist him with the implant placement surgery? You should see another oral surgeon for a second opinion.