title: Hypoesthesia after IAN block anesthesia with lidocaine: management of mild to moderate nerve injury.
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.
authors: Department of Conservative Dentistry, Yonsei University College of Dentistry, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Sungjoo
authors: S
authors: Moon
authors: Seung-Jong
authors: SJ
authors: Lee
authors: Euiseong
authors: E
authors: Kim
authors: Chan-Young
authors: CY
authors: Lee
keywords: Hypoesthesia; Inferior alveolar nerve block; Lidocaine; Local anesthetics; Medication