Significance of Mento-Blink Reflex Study in Lesion of Inferior Alveolar Nerve

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to observe how the mento-blink reflex (MBR) study is valuable in evaluating the inferior alveolar nerve injury. METHOD: Eleven patients, suffering from the sensory discomfort after extraction of the third molar, and a control group consisting of 20 healthy individuals participated in the clinical neurosensory test (CNST) and the MBR study. The score of CNST was from 0 (normal) to 5 (worst) according to sensory deficit, and the results of MBR were divided into 3 groups normal; prolongation of R2 latency; no response. RESULTS: In the control group, R2 latencies of right and left were 31.9+/-6.1 msec and 31.5+/-5.9 msec, respectively with the difference of 1.3+/-0.9 msec. The abnormality in the MBR study in patients was correlated with the subjective sensory symptoms (p=0.017) and the abnormality of MBR response was proportional to the score of the CNST. CONCLUSION: We concluded that the MBR study is a useful diagnostic tool in reflecting the inferior alveolar nerve lesion.