Basic and patient-oriented research
Neurosensory Disturbances of the Inferior Alveolar Nerve: A Retrospective Study of Complaints in a 10-Year Period

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Purpose

The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of neurosensory disturbances (NSDs) of the inferior alveolar nerve after dental procedures.

Materials and Methods

A retrospective study of patient complaints for transient and permanent NSDs was achieved by means of a 10-year follow-up of claims to a national practitioner insurance company. Claims for 3 different dental procedures were analyzed from 157,292 contracts of insurance recorded during this period.

Results

Three hundred eighty-two complaints of NSDs were recorded with 75 permanent injuries (19.6%). The incidence of endodontic treatment and surgical procedures in NSDs cases were 35.3% and 61.5%, respectively, and the prevalence of third molar removals in permanent loss of sensation was 46.6%.

Conclusion

Impacted third molar removal appears to be the main etiology of permanent inferior alveolar nerve sensory deficiency, but endodontic treatments are often implicated and implant placement procedures can cause severe nerve injuries.

Section snippets

Materials and Methods

An epidemiologic investigation was conducted by a French insurance company for a 10-year period (1988–1997). Occasionally, a few years had passed between the injury and the claim. Furthermore, the insurance company required a lapse of a minimum of 2 years after the nerve damage before the patient was eligible for consideration for compensation.

A total of 157,292 contracts of insurance were analyzed during this period. Injury claims for NSD related to 3 different procedures were collected and

Results

During the 10-year period of our investigation, 382 complaints related to NSDs were recorded in the 3 specific dental procedures (Table 1), of which 75 were permanent nerve injuries.

We noticed the most important number of claims in the SP group (n = 235) with the prevalence of third molar removal (n = 156), which accounts for 66.4% of NSDs of this group and the low number of NSDs (12 cases) in the IP procedure. The separate analysis of transient and permanent NSD in the 3 procedures underlines

Discussion

The present study was primarily designed to examine the prevalence of the claims for NSDs as a result of dental treatment.

In this study, information was collected by means of a 10-year follow-up retrospective analysis of patients’ complaints to the practitioners’ insurance company. Only the judged files were included in the survey. Claims concerning NSD were taken into account by the insurance companies in the weeks following the dental procedures to allow compensation in cases of partial and

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