title: The quantitative sensory testing is an efficient objective method for assessment of nerve injury.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study evaluated Somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP), Quantitative sensory testing (QST), and thermography as diagnostic methods for nerve injury.
  
  
  METHODS
  From 2006 through 2011, 17 patients (mean age: 50.1 years) from OOOO Hospital who sought care for altered sensation after dental implant treatment were identified. The mean time of objective assessment was 15.2 months after onset.
  
  
  RESULTS
  SEP of Inferior alveolar nerve(IAN) was 15.87 ± 0.87 ms on the normal side and 16.18 ± 0.73 ms on the abnormal side. There was delayed N20 latency on the abnormal side, but the difference was not statistically significant. In QST, the abnormal side showed significantly higher scores of the current perception threshold at 2 KHz, 250 Hz, and 5 Hz. The absolute temperature difference was 0.55°C without statistically significance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results indicate that QST is valuable as an objective method for assessment of nerve injury.
authors: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Section of Dentistry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Gyeonggi, South Korea.
authors: Young-Kyun
authors: YK
authors: Kim
authors: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Section of Dentistry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Gyeonggi, South Korea.
authors: Pil-Young
authors: PY
authors: Yun
authors: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Section of Dentistry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Gyeonggi, South Korea.
authors: Jong-Hwa
authors: JH
authors: Kim
authors: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Section of Dentistry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Gyeonggi, South Korea.
authors: Ji-Young
authors: JY
authors: Lee
authors: Department of Dentistry, Uijeongbu St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, 222 Banpo-daero, Seocho-gu, Seoul 137-701 Republic of Korea.
authors: Won
authors: W
authors: Lee
keywords: Nerve injury; Quantitative Sensory Testing; Somatosensory Evoked Potentials; Thermography