Korean J Leg Med.  2020 Nov;44(4):157-162. 10.7580/kjlm.2020.44.4.157.

Evaluation of Patients with Sensory Disturbance after Dental Treatment

• Ju HM
• Lee JY
• Jeon HM
• Kim KH
• Ok SM
• Jeong SH
• Ahn YW

• KMID: 2509045
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.7580/kjlm.2020.44.4.157

Abstract

The Korean Dental Association recommends a disability rate (DR) of 1%-3% in the judgment of physical disability owing to sensory disturbance (SD) after dental treatment; however, criteria for deciding the exact percentage have not been suggested. Therefore, this study aims to provide practical criteria in the application of forensic physical disability evaluation by comparing the results of SD using the current perception threshold (CPT) test. A total of 324 patients with SD who visited the Department of Oral Medicine at Pusan National University Dental Hospital between January 2013 and August 2020, underwent the test. The eight stages, as a result of the CPT value, were reorganized as follows: profound sensory loss, very severe and severe as “severe group”, advanced and moderate as “moderate group”, mild and very mild as “mild group”, and normal as “normal group” The analysis of variance (ANOVA) test was used to calculate the statistical difference in the CPT values at 2000 Hz, 250 Hz, and 5 Hz among the four groups. There were significant statistical differences in the average values of CPT among the four groups (P<0.001). Additionally, a significant statistical difference in the CPT value between the affected and nonaffected sides of the patients was observed among the four groups (P<0.001). Therefore, based on the results of this study, the rationale for applying DR from 1%-3% was in accordance with the severity of the mandibular nerve injury.

Keyword

Iatrogenic nerve injury; Dental treatment; Sensory disturbance