Repair of nerves injured during dental and oral surgery procedures

Abstract

There is still some disagreement and confusion about the optimal management of patients who have suffered a nerve injury during a dental or oral surgery procedure. The majority of the nerve injuries are temporary and normal sensation will usually return without any surgical intervention but there are some patients for whom exploration and repair of their injured nerves may be beneficial. The difficulty lies with the assessment of the nerve injury and the decision making as to whether it is likely to be a temporary injury that will fully recover without any intervention or if early surgical intervention should be recommended.