Some members have had successful intraoral surgery, so I wouldn’t rule it out, but definitely external seems to have a better chance of removing the styloid higher up. So I’d suggest asking him why he feels intraoral would be better, & state your reasons for preferring external. There are some research papers that show the success rates are higher with more styloid removed, here’s a quote from one:
‘Surgical failure rate is around 20% by means of partial relief of symptoms or recurrence of symptoms and can be due to entrapment within fibrous tissue of adjoining nerve, or inadequate shortening leading to constant irritation.’
& this one explains about how the external approach is better.
‘Eagle’s syndrome – A case report and review of the literature by Khandelwal, Hada, Ashutosh Harsh: ‘The most significant advantage of an external approach is enhanced exposure of the styloid process and the adjacent structures, and this outweighs all other considerations. It also facilitates the resection of a partially ossified stylohyoid ligament. Transoral resection causes no outside scars, but involves the risk of deep cervical infection and possible neurovascular injury’. (Chase et al, 1986, Ceylan et al, 2008).
Both these & more info are in the Newbies Guide Section:
So you could print out the research papers & take with you.
If a doctor’s experienced then sometimes it can be good to go with their instinct & skill…but it’s your body & you should decide the treatment you want. If you’re not confident that he’ll remove enough of the styloid, then it might be worth getting another opinion if you can.