Surgical Management of an Elderly Patient with Mental Nerve Hyperesthesia: A Case Report

Abstract

Prolonged use of removable dentures and age-related bone remodeling can result in atrophy of the alveolar crest and lead to functional impairments and complications such as inflammation and hypersensitivity. The effectiveness of nerve transposition surgery and implant rehabilitation in reducing these complaints in atrophic mandibles is remarkable. This case study involves a 63-year old female patient who developed trigeminal nerve neuropathy, starting after use of removable dentures, with the complaint of pain around the right foramen mentale. Advanced resorption in the posterior alveolar crests of the mandible was identified through radiological examinations. After two months, there was a significant improvement in symptoms and post-operative hypoesthesia was achieved by the agency of implant rehabilitation and the inferior transposition of the right mental nerve. This case emphasizes the importance of nerve transposition surgery in severe atrophic crests, superiorly located mental foramina or hyperesthesia induced by removable prostheses.