Sammanfattning
Neurosensory dysfunction (NSD) is one of many postoperative complications after removal of
impacted or erupted third molars. Before surgery there are many risk factors that must be
considered, including the patient`s age, horizontally impacted teeth, close radiographic proximity to
the inferior alveolar canal («darkening of the roots», «interruption of the white line», «diversion of the
canal» and «narrowing of the root») and the experience of the operator.
The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of NSD and identify risk factors for NSD
after mandibular third molar removal in 2013 at the Department of Oral Surgery and Oral Medicine,
University of Oslo.
According to the present study 8 patients reported NSD (prevalence 1.6 %), six injuries to the IAN
alone (1, 2 %), three injuries to the LN (0,6 % . One patient experienced injury to both nerves. Among
the 8 patients who reported NSD, six patients reported normal sensation after 6 months, indicating a
good prognosis with regard to NSD. The two patients, who did not recover spontaneously, were
offered treatment with soft laser therapy and reported improvement after 5 months (9 treatments) and
9 months (14 treatments).