Background: Neurosensory impairment is a common complication following inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) damage.
Objective: To document and report the various causes, diagnosis, and management of IAN damage secondary to orthodontic treatment.
Methods: An electronic search for studies that reported IAN damage in patients undergoing orthodontic treatment was performed up to July 15, 2020 using MEDLINE, Embase, and PubMed databases. Descriptive analyses and linear regression model were performed.
Results: A total of 15 case reports were identified including 16 patients with an overall mean age of 23.3. All the included studies reported temporary sensory alterations which manifested as anesthesia (19%, n = 3), paresthesia (75%, n = 12), or combined (6%, n = 1). The majority of cases managed by stopping the orthodontic force (75%, n = 12), followed by appliance adjustments (19%, n = 3), providing a bite plate (13%, n = 2), and/or providing pharmacological management (38%, n = 6). Full recovery median duration reported in all cases following the aforementioned managements was 17.5 days.
Conclusions: IAN damage secondary to orthodontic treatment is emerging in the literature in recent years. Identifying high risk patients with close proximity to the IAN canal is a must to formulate a proper treatment plan to avoid such complications.
Keywords: IAN damage; Inferior alveolar nerve injury; nerve damage; neuropraxia; orthodontics; paresthesia.