Effectiveness and Distribution of Anesthesia for a Modified Extra Oral Maxillo-Mandibular Nerve Block for Dento-Alveolar Procedures: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of a modified maxillo-mandibular nerve block technique that includes anesthetizing the maxillary and mandibular nerve with single injection.

Materials And Methods: A prospective, clinical cohort study was carried out including patients who presented for surgical removal of maxillary and mandibular third molars. All patients were administered maxilla-mandibular nerve block through a single injection on one side. Three clinical neurosensory tests were used for mapping the area of anesthesia and to assess and grade objectively the effect of the block. Light touch (LT), two-point discrimination (TPD), pin prick (PP) and Electric pulp testing (EPT) were used for all branches of maxillary and mandibular nerve. An extra oral mapping chart for depth of anesthesia was maintained for each patient to categorize the grades as nil, intermediate and highly anesthetized areas.

Results: 62 patients were assessed in the study. EPT showed greater depth of pulpal anesthesia in posterior teeth than the anterior in both maxilla and mandible. PP and TPD tests also showed that the anesthetic effect varied between posterior divisions demonstrating extreme anesthesia compared to the anterior divisions.

Conclusion: This technique was found to be successful for surgical extractions involving the maxillary and mandibular regions.

Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12663-022-01755-w.