ORIGINAL ARTICLE   

European Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery 2021 December;5(3):91-4

DOI: 10.23736/S2532-3466.20.00245-3

Copyright © 2020 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

A distressing numbness of the tongue: lingual nerve damage following surgical removal of lower wisdom tooth

Sakuntha RATNAPREYA ¹ ✉, Irosha R. PERERA ², Nadeena S. JAYASURIYA ³, Sandeep JAYASEKARA ⁴, Lakshitha S. WEERAWANSA ⁴, Loshan SENARATHNA ⁴, Parakrama WIJEKOON ³, Kanchana KAPUGAMA ³, Manjula ATTYGALLA ³

¹ Department of Dental Surgery, Asiri Surgical Hospital, Colombo 5, Sri Lanka; ² Preventive Oral Health Unit, National Dental Teaching Hospital, Colombo 7, Sri Lanka; ³ Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dental Sciences, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka; ⁴ Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Dental Teaching Hospital, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka

BACKGROUND: Lower wisdom tooth removal is a routine oral surgical procedure. Lingual nerve injury is a highly distressful possible complication of this procedure.
METHODS: Overall, 834 patients underwent removal of the impacted lower third molar at a single institution by experienced dental surgeons. Fourteen patients reported the complication of numbness of the tongue. These patients were closely followed up over a two-year period.
RESULTS: Majority of patients with numbness of tongue were female. Nine of the 14 patients required removal of wisdom tooth due to gross decay and recurrent pain. Distoangular impactions (42.9%) were the most commonly associated with the complication. Over the two year follow-up period nine patients reported complete recovery with the other five showing partial recovery of at least 70%.
CONCLUSIONS: LNI is a complication that requires close and long term follow-up by an empathetic surgeon.

KEY WORDS: Lingual nerve injuries; Paresthesia; Third molar; Complications