Evaluation of the regenerative capacity of the inferior alveolar nerve following surgical trauma.

The fate of 52 nerves where there was altered sensation following sagittal ramus osteotomy and mandibular advancement, and 15 nerves where this occurred after third molar removal were evaluated through questionnaires involving both subjective and objective components. The study covered an interval between six and 54.5 months, with a mean of 31.9 months. Of the altered nerves from sagittal ramus osteotomy, 53.8% returned to normal, while 60% returned to normal in the third molar group. No correlation was found between terms used by the patient to describe the altered sensation and prognosis of nerve regeneration. In addition, correlation was not noted between the topographic distribution of altered sensation and the prognosis or residual deficit. No significant difference was found between the two methods of assessing nerve regeneration. A relationship was noted between age of the patient and increasing incidence of persistent altered sensation.