Investigation of nerve injury after lower third molar removal

Abstract

AbstractAimThis study was carried out to investigate the number of patients who developed a nerve injury (inferior alveolar nerve or lingual nerve) following lower third molar removal at the Edinburgh Dental Institute.Material and methodsA prospective cross sectional study was conducted at the Edinburgh Dental Institute. A total of 218 patients who underwent 236 mandibular third molar extractions were included in the study. They all signed a consent form and agreed to be a part of the study. All of them were followed up with a telephone interview 1 week post operatively and were asked if they had any altered sensations in the lip, chin and/or tongue. If they did, they were asked to attend for a clinical assessment.ResultsOf the 218 patients, 13 patients (5.5%) reported altered sensations in the telephone interview. Eleven reported altered sensations in the lip and/or chin. Two of the patients reported altered sensations in the tongue. So inferior alveolar nerve injury incidence was 4.7% while lingual nerve injury incidence was 0.9%. Eleven of the injuries were temporary and the other two patients remain under review as they are still reporting some altered sensations.ConclusionThe result correlates with the incidence of nerve injury available in the literature. However, to get a more accurate result, a study with a larger number of patients needs to be carried out.