Blood-flow change and recovery of sensibility in the maxillary dental pulp after a single-segment Le Fort I osteotomy.
OBJECTIVE
To examine blood-flow change and recovery of sensibility in the dental pulp of maxillary incisors in patients undergoing a single-segment Le Fort I osteotomy.


METHODS
Fifty-four maxillary incisors in 14 patients were examined preoperatively and at 1 to 7 days, 14 days, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months postoperatively. The pulpal blood flow (PBF) was measured by laser Doppler flowmetry, and the pulpal sensibility (PS) was investigated by electrodiagnostics.


RESULTS
The mean PBF dropped to its lowest value at 1 day postoperatively and subsequently increased except for a temporary drop on day 4. The PS was negative in all the examined teeth from 1 day to 14 days after surgery. Subsequently, the rate of the teeth with positive PS increased. At 3 months postoperatively, the PS recovered in half of the examined teeth. The PBF value on day 1 was significantly higher in the teeth with positive PS at 3 months postoperatively than in those with negative PS at 3 months postoperatively.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that the decrease of the PBF in the maxillary incisors on 1 day after a single-segment Le Fort I osteotomy may affect the recovery of the PS in the short term after surgery.
Sato
Masaru
M
Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Japan.
Harada
Kiyoshi
K
Okada
Yasuhiro
Y
Omura
Ken
K
D000328:Adult; D003782:Dental Pulp / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000503:physiopathology; D004568:Electrodiagnosis; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007180:Incisor / Q000098:blood supply / Q000503:physiopathology; D017078:Laser-Doppler Flowmetry; D008297:Male; D008437:Maxilla / Q000601:surgery*; D019340:Osteotomy, Le Fort / Q000145:classification*; D010146:Pain / Q000503:physiopathology; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000502:physiology; D012039:Regional Blood Flow / Q000502:physiology; D012677:Sensation / Q000502:physiology*