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The most frequent complications after surgical removal of an impacted mandibular third molar are the following: alveolar osteitis, infections, neurological damage involving the inferior alveolar and lingual nerves. All of these postoperative complications are more frequent in older patients. Their increase starts at about 25 years of age. Alveolar osteitis is the most frequent postoperative complication, but it is easily handled; its pathogenesis remains unknown, even if cigarette smoking enhances its incidence; other putative risk factors have not been confirmed. An effective etiologic therapy is not yet available, but the symptoms can be managed by means of local medication. Postoperative infections can still cause very severe problems, especially in elderly patients, if the treatment is not correct and timely. Antibiotic prophylaxis is indicated in selected cases. The possibility of neurological complications is often associated with anxiety both in the patient and doctor: fortunately, their incidence has been lowered by improved surgical techniques; moreover, risk indicators have been identified on the panoramic radiographs; three-dimensional imaging is useful in planning the surgical intervention in risky cases.

This article describes the successful surgical treatment of a case of damage to the inferior alveolar nerve, due to inadvertent extrusion of endodontic material into the mandibular canal. The accident was favoured by an anatomical variant of the nerve canal ending with a double mental foramen, already described in the literature. The complex surgical operation of uncertain outcome was dictated by neuralgia refractory to medical treatment, rather than hypoesthesia associated with compression of the nerve trunk. Problems related to loss of sensitivity and possible causes of nerve damage (traumatic, pathological and iatrogenic) are discussed.

Aim: This study examines 10.112 cases in 10 years of bilateral block anaesthesia to Spix's spine. The aim of this study is therefore to eliminate any doubt about executing a bilateral anaesthesia to Spix's spine for the extraction, in inclusion and impacted of the inferior wisdom teeth., Methods: A retrospective study was carried out on 10,112 operations (59% females, 41% males,) regarding the removal of the lower 3 molar teeth undertaken in the past 10 years. Locoregional anaesthesia and standard instruments and protocol were applied to all operations. The anaesthetic used was mepicavina at 2% with epinefrine 1:100,000 with a 4 x 25 mm, 27 Gauge needle. In order to completely anaesthetize the areas subject to surgery a quantity of approximately 3-ml on each side was injected. Local anaesthetics used were the same throughout the study; all the patients were in good health and not undergoing any pharmaceutical treatment., Results: The onset of complications was 3 times less when using local anaesthesia (LA) compared to general anaesthesia (GA). It was also proven that local anaesthesia was advantageous, as the operation time was considerably less (24 min for LA and 46 min for GA)., Conclusions: The paper shows that LA offers a significant reduction in complications, psychological advantages for the patients and facilitation of the operational position too, so that GA is to be preferred only for non-cooperative patients.

The correction of oral and maxillo-facial mal-formations causes lesions to sensitive nerves due to the invasive and traumatic surgery techniques required. Generally neuro-sensory and cutaneous-mucosal defects are reversible, with full recovery within 6-12 months. In a follow-up study (2 and 8 years) we found altered tactile and pain sensitivity in 43% of patients at subjective evaluation, with objective alteration in 17% of the group. Dental sensitivity evaluated by a pulp test showed an increase in for all teeth tested; values were higher for superior than for inferior teeth. Despite the increased pulp sensitivity threshold, due to the surgical damage, no signs of pulp disease were detected. Quality of life was not affected even by such a high subjective change in sensitivity. We therefore believe that patients undergoing orthognathic surgery must be fully informed; they must be made to understand the risks involved, and that damage may occur to sensitive nerves following surgery. All surgeons, including those with experience in the field, should continually seek to improve their skill and learn new techniques, in order to reduce complications to a minimum.

Extraction of third molars is the operation most frequently performed by oral and maxillofacial surgeons. The American National Institute of Health (1979) and the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (1993) have organised consensus conferences to systematically analyse the scientific evidence and provide official guidelines for the management of third molars. However, some clinical aspects are still controversial: indications for preventive extraction, early extraction, prognosis of impacted teeth, continuous follow-up, relationship with anterior crowding and temporo-mandibular disorders. This article reviews the conclusions from the consensus conferences and integrates them with more recent data. The actual trend seems to justify a more conservative clinical approach rather than an aggressive extraction policy.

The authors report several cases of inferior alveolar nerve injuries caused by endodontic cements. The surgical treatment which is suggested is the decompression of the nerve by microsurgical neurolysis.

Permanent functional disturbances of the inferior alveolar nerve after sagittal osteotomy of the ramus of the mandible form an increasingly common feature of the reported series. Reference is made to earlier experimental research in a description of a preliminary series in which this complication was avoided by cleaving the two cortical substances with a thin cement spatula used as a scalpel. The results were extremely encouraging. There were no reports of permanent functional disturbances of the alveolar nerve, while the incidence of temporary defects was also reduced.

All possible forms of inferior alveolar nerve injury are examined with a report on several personal cases and their medicolegal implications.