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Influence of tooth sectioning technique and various risk factors in reducing the IAN injury following surgical removal of an impacted mandibular third molar

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Abstract

A prospective study on 100 patients presented with a mesioangular impacted mandibular third molar in close proximity to the inferior alveolar nerve canal (IANC) was done to evaluate the efficacy of tooth sectioning in reducing the incidence of inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) injury during their surgical removal. The patients were divided into two groups: group A, where tooth sectioning was not performed, and group B, where tooth sectioning was performed. Patients were recalled 7 days, 15 days, 30 days, 3 months, and 6 months postoperatively for evaluation of nerve injury and its recovery. A total of 13 patients suffered from nerve damage out of which 10 patients (10/50 or 20 %) belonged to group A and 3 patients (3/50 or 6 %) belonged to group B. All patients showed complete recovery from nerve damage within 6 months except 1 patient. The result of the study showed that tooth sectioning significantly reduces the incidence of nerve damage by 14 %. Deviation of the IANC, increased depth of the impacted tooth, intraoperative hemorrhage within socket/nerve exposure, and increased duration of procedure were found to be the significant risk factors associated with nerve injury.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, People’s Dental Academy, Room No 101, Bhopal, India

    Neha Jain, S. Prabhu & Mrinal Satpathy

  2. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, People’s College of Dental Science & Research Centre, Bhopal, India

    Shaji Thomas & Ajay Pillai

  3. Private Practice, Bhopal, India

    Sumant Jain

  4. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, RKDF Dental College & Research Centre, Bhopal, India

    Ashutosh Dutt Pathak

Authors
  1. Neha Jain
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  2. Shaji Thomas
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  3. S. Prabhu
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  4. Sumant Jain
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  5. Ashutosh Dutt Pathak
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  6. Ajay Pillai
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  7. Mrinal Satpathy
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Correspondence to Neha Jain.

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Jain, N., Thomas, S., Prabhu, S. et al. Influence of tooth sectioning technique and various risk factors in reducing the IAN injury following surgical removal of an impacted mandibular third molar. Oral Maxillofac Surg 20, 149–156 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10006-015-0540-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10006-015-0540-3

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