Blood-flow change and recovery of sensibility in the maxillary dental pulp after a single-segment Le Fort I osteotomy.

摘要

OBJECTIVE: To examine blood-flow change and recovery of sensibility in the dental pulp of maxillary incisors in patients undergoing a single-segment Le Fort I osteotomy. STUDY DESIGN: Fifty-four maxillary incisors in 14 patients were examined preoperatively and at 1 to 7 days, 14 days, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months postoperatively. The pulpal blood flow (PBF) was measured by laser Doppler flowmetry, and the pulpal sensibility (PS) was investigated by electrodiagnostics. RESULTS: The mean PBF dropped to its lowest value at 1 day postoperatively and subsequently increased except for a temporary drop on day 4. The PS was negative in all the examined teeth from 1 day to 14 days after surgery. Subsequently, the rate of the teeth with positive PS increased. At 3 months postoperatively, the PS recovered in half of the examined teeth. The PBF value on day 1 was significantly higher in the teeth with positive PS at 3 months postoperatively than in those with negative PS at 3 months postoperatively. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the decrease of the PBF in the maxillary incisors on 1 day after a single-segment Le Fort I osteotomy may affect the recovery of the PS in the short term after surgery.