Objectives
To evaluate the role of computed tomography (CT)/cone-beam computed beam CT (CBCT) in association with hypoesthesia of the mental region and lower lip during the surgical removal of DCs.
Methods
A retrospective cohort study was performed involving 39 impacted mandibular DC cases between February 2011 and March 2022. We studied the association of hypoesthesia in relation to the age and sex of the patient and to growth direction and expansion of the DC on the CT/CBCT image findings. The preoperative CT/CBCT image findings were statistically analyzed in accordance with diagnoses of DCs confirmed based on pathology. Fisher’s exact test was used to test the relationship between hypoesthesia and CT/CBCT imaging findings. In addition, PubMed and PubMed Central were searched using keywords such as “hypoesthesia” to find relevant studies. Reports of hypoesthesia of the mental region and lower lip were derived from the selected literature.
Results
The frequency of hypoesthesia recorded was 35.9%. No statistically significant association was observed for all hypoesthesia and CT/CBCT image findings.
Conclusions
Imaging evaluation was performed in 39 dentigerous cysts, and a literature review was performed. We found that CT/CBCT alone does not provide sufficiently reliable images required for predicting nerve lesions. Future prospective studies are required.