The Etiology of Altered Sensation in the Inferior Alveolar, Lingual, and Mental Nerves as a Result of Dental Treatment

In a review of 163 consecutive patients referred with trigeminal nerve (inferior alveolar or lingual nerve) involvement following dental treatment, the most common etiology was third-molar removal (87 patients). The second most common cause was an inferior alveolar nerve block injection (34 patients), with a smaller number of endodontic and periodontal complications. Female patients outnumbered male 3.3 to 1. Twenty-seven patients were offered surgical exploration and possible nerve repair surgery; of them, 14 underwent surgery. Forty percent of the patients admitted to being involved in litigation during the time they were undergoing treatment.