Mandibular nerve paresthesia caused by endodontic treatment.

The paresthesias of the inferior dental nerve consists of a complication that can occur after performing various dental procedures such as cystectomies, extraction of impacted teeth, apicoectomies, endodontic treatments, local anesthetic deposition, preprosthetic or implantologic surgery. The possible mechanisms of nervous lesions are mechanical, chemical and thermal. Mechanical injury includes compression, stretching, partial or total resection and laceration. The lesion can cause a discontinuity to the nerve with Wallerian degeneration of the distal and integrated fibers of the covering (axonotmesis) or can cause the total sectioning of the nerve (neurotmesis). Chemical trauma can be due to certain toxic components of the endodontic filling materials (paraformaldehyde, corticoids or eugenol) and irrigating solutions (sodium hypochlorite) or local anesthetics. Thermal injury is a consequence of bone overheating during the execution of surgical techniques. We present a clinical case of paresthesia of the inferior dental nerve after the introduction of a gutta-percha point in the mandibular canal during the performance of a root canal therapy of the inferior first molar. The etiology and the treatment of this endodontic complication are described.