Analysis of neurosensory dysfunction after dental implant surgery

Abstract

Purpose: There have been reports regarding the various factors associated with the level of discomfort and recovery from neurosensory symptoms in patients with trigeminal nerve injury. However, the contributing factors remain uncertain and poorly understood. The purpose of this paper was to investigate the possible association between various factors expected to affect neurosensory discomfort and recovery in patients with mandibular nerve injury after dental implant surgery. Methods: Eighty-nine post-dental implant surgery patients with mandibular nerve injury were enrolled in this retrospective analysis. A medical records review of the patients was done to determine if the patients’ improvement was related to pain intensity, the length of time between the injury and removal of the implant or the depth of penetration of the implant into the mandibular canal as determined by cone-beam computed tomography. Results: There was no significant linear relationship between pain intensity and symptomatic improvement (p=0.319). There was no significant linear relationship between the level of mandibular canal penetration and either pain intensity (p=0.588) or symptomatic improvement (p=0.760). There was a statistically significant linear relationship between length of time before the injury was treated, both with pain intensity (p=0.004), and symptomatic improvement (p=0.024). Conclusions: Our findings indicate that the length of time between nerve injury and initiation of conservative treatment is more closely related to the pain intensity and symptomatic improvement than other factors, including the level of mandibular canal invasion. Additionally, increased pain intensity and decreased symptomatic improvement can be expected over time, because of this linear trend. Therefore, although direct injury to the nerve is the most important factor contributing to a neurosensory disturbances, early neurosensory assessment and initiation of conservative treatment should be done to optimize recovery.