A Qualitative Study to Assess the Impact of Iatrogenic Trigeminal Nerve Injury.

AIMS: To deepen knowledge of the impact of iatrogenic trigeminal nerve injury on dental patients.

METHODS

One-to-one semi-structured interviews and workshops were conducted with 12 patients who had incurred a nerve injury from dental treatment. Nerve injury was diagnosed by oral surgeons via a series of neurosensory tests. Interpretive phenomenologic analysis was used to analyze the narratives from the interviews.

RESULTS

Key themes are presented and discussed. These include the personal impact for the patient (which includes a change in self-perception), the impact on relationships, the impact on oral health care, and adjustment to the injury over time. Patients also discussed a change in how they perceived their dentist and other health care professionals and highlighted factors they would like to change within the dental care system.

CONCLUSION

Recommendations are made for clinical practice and future research.