Abstract
Trauma to a sensory nerve often occurs during common dental treatment such as tooth extraction and root canal treatment. Therefore, oral sensory disturbance following dental treatment is by no means infrequent. Sensory disturbance affecting the orofacial area is devastating to patients, since the dysesthesia can be elicited easily by the most common activities of daily living such as speaking and eating. Thus, it sometimes turns into medical malpractice claim.
Here, we feature five cases (case 1: post-implant placement, case 2, 3: post-root canal filling treatments, case 4, 5: post-tooth extraction) among patients with sensory disturbance following dental treatments at the Orofacial Pain Center at Tokyo Dental College Suidoubashi Hospital, and reported on the trends.
Most cases claimed that informed consent and/or after care were insufficient. Informed consent before the treatment in ordinary dental therapies and after care for patient with oral sensory disturbance following dental treatment have not been sufficiently elucidated yet.
