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Case Reports
. 2012 Nov;37(4):232-5.
doi: 10.5395/rde.2012.37.4.232. Epub 2012 Nov 21.

Hypoesthesia after IAN block anesthesia with lidocaine: management of mild to moderate nerve injury

Sungjoo Moon  1 , Seung-Jong Lee, Euiseong Kim, Chan-Young Lee
Affiliations
Case Reports

Hypoesthesia after IAN block anesthesia with lidocaine: management of mild to moderate nerve injury

Sungjoo Moon et al. Restor Dent Endod. 2012 Nov.

Abstract

Hypoesthesia after an inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) block does not commonly occur, but some cases are reported. The causes of hypoesthesia include a needle injury or toxicity of local anesthetic agents, and the incidence itself can cause stress to both dentists and patients. This case presents a hypoesthesia on mental nerve area followed by IAN block anesthesia with 2% lidocaine. Prescription of steroids for a week was performed and periodic follow up was done. After 1 wk, the symptoms got much better and after 4 mon, hypoesthesia completely disappeared. During this healing period, only early steroid medication was prescribed. In most cases, hypoesthesia is resolved within 6 mon, but being aware of etiology and the treatment options of hypoesthesia is important. Because the hypoesthesia caused by IAN block anesthesia is a mild to moderate nerve injury, early detection of symptom and prescription of steroids could be helpful for improvement of the hypoesthesia.

Keywords: Hypoesthesia; Inferior alveolar nerve block; Lidocaine; Local anesthetics; Medication.

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Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mapping from the first visit after nerve injury indicates that the hypoesthesia was on the right mental nerve area.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mapping at 5 weeks follow-up after the nerve injury. The hypoesthetic region was reduced compared to the first mapping.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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