Anatomy, Physiology, and Pathophysiology of Trigeminal System Paresthesias and Dysesthesias

Inferior alveolar nerve deficits and recovery following surgical removal of impacted mandibular third molars

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

(1) To determine the incidence of inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) deficits following surgical extraction of mandibular third molar. (2) To document recovery of IAN injuries.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 400 lower third molars were extracted, 205 male patients and 195 females. All underwent extraction by the prescribed buccal approach. All cases were examined by one examiner preoperatively and postoperatively, at 7 days, one month, two months and six months. Two-point discrimination test (2-pd), brush stroke direction (BSD), contact detection, pin prick and thermal testing was carried out.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

One patient presented with IAN injury (0.25%). This single case of nerve injury was mesioangular, Level B, Class 2, impaction with a difficulty rating of 5. Levels A and B tests (2PD, BSD, Contact detection) were altered. In these tests, the IAN did not show any signs of recovery by six months. Level C tests (pin prick test, sharp blunt detection) showed that the nerve had recovered completely by two months.

Mandibular nerve neurosensory impairment after dental implant surgery: management and protocol

More than 70% of dentists have experienced patients with postoperative paresthesia/dysesthesia or anesthesia as a result of dental procedures. The most common nerve affected is the mandibular nerve, which may be injured during either implant surgery or bone grafting procedures. However, no organized protocol directed specifically for general dentists, or for the vast majority of specialists, has been published. The protocol presented in this article is divided into 5 periods: during surgery (1) nerve injury is suspected or (2) known nerve transection, post-operative period (3) 1 week and (4) 12 weeks. The appropriate treatment (pharmacology, monitoring, etc.) for each period is suggested, including the referral to a nerve specialist when appropriate.

Understanding and managing patients with chronic pain

The specialty of oral and maxillofacial surgery has had at its core the foundations of anesthesia and pain and anxiety control. This article attempts to refamiliarize the reader with clinical pearls helpful in the management of patients with chronic pain conditions. The authors also hope to highlight the interplay of chronic pain and psychology as it relates to the oral and maxillofacial surgery patient. To that end, the article outlines and reviews the neurophysiology of pain, the definitions of pain, conditions encountered by the oral and maxillofacial surgeon that produce chronic pain, the psychological impact and comorbidities associated with patients experiencing chronic pain conditions, and concepts of multimodal treatment for patients experiencing chronic pain conditions.

Orofacial pain: basic mechanisms and implication for successful management

Orofacial Pain is the field of dentistry devoted to the diagnosis and management of chronic, complex, facial pain and oromotor disorders. This specialty in dentistry has developed over a number of years out of the need for better understanding of a group of patients who somehow were not clearly suffering from dental pain disorders, but still did not seem to have a clearly defined medical problem. After a long period of treating patients based on the mechanicist aspect of the disease, our profession has realized the importance of basic knowledge and differencial diagnosis in order to proper manage these patients. This modification in the approach has caused severe changes in education as well as in clinical activities. Historically considered as a problem of occlusion, Orofacial Pain, including Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD) has recently reached the status of "Specialty" in Brazil. Therefore, this paper aims to discuss the main differences between musculoskeletal and neuropathic pain and the importance of basic knowledge to perform successful management.