The contribution of the nasopalatine nerve to sensation of the hard palate

Abstract

This study investigates which areas of the hard palate are innervated by the nasopalatine nerve and determines whether division of this nerve results in a detectable alteration in sensation. In the first part of this study the area of the hard palate from which sharp and blunt sensation could be evoked was investigated in 20 subjects after anaesthetising both anterior (formerly greater) palatine nerves. Sensation remained in the region of the incisive papilla and gingival margin of the central incisors in all patients and, in some, extended as far back as the first premolars. In the second part of the study, sharp and blunt sensation of the hard palate were tested before and after incisive bundle division. No significant alteration in sensation was found in any of the 20 patients tested.