Preventing Lingual Nerve Damage After Wisdom Teeth Extraction
An interesting article titled “Prevention of Lingual Nerve Injury in Third Molar Surgery: Literature Review” written by Pippi et al. appears in the 2017 edition of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (vol. 75, pp. 890-900). The article discusses attempting to identify any factors that could influence if a patient suffers lingual nerve damage after wisdom teeth removal. In the study the authors reviewed previous literature published up until February 2016 that pertained to lingual nerve injuries after wisdom teeth surgery. From the literature review the authors analyzed three different surgical techniques used for wisdom teeth removal: 1) buccal approach, 2) lingual split technique, and 3) buccal approach plus lingual flap retraction in order to determine if their were any differences on lingual nerve injuries. The authors also evaluated the association between nerve damage and tooth sectioning or ostectomy. … Read more