Peripheral neurological damage following lower third molar removal. A preliminary clinical study.

Abstract AIM: Type of impaction and site of nerve are important risk factors of neurological damage following the lower third molar removal. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the peripheral damage of lingual and lower alveolar nerves in relation to tooth angulation and radiographic proximity to the alveolar canal. METHODS: Sixty-seven consecutive patients (41 women and 26 men, mean age 29.97+/-14.35 years) underwent lower wisdom teeth extraction and were clinically evaluated over a one year period, checking any evidence of peripheral damage of the lower alveolar or lingual nerves. Tooth angulation and presence or absence of spongy bone between the mandibular canal and the root apex were considered; so, the patients were assigned twice to two groups: G1A (third molar in axis); G2A (third molar angulated); G1B (third molar apex adjacent to the mandibular canal); G2B (spongy bone between root apex and canal). The extraction was carried out according to a standardised technique wit