Trigeminal somatosensory evoked potentials before, during and after an inferior alveolar nerve block in normal subjects

Abstract

The changes of the trigeminal somatosensory evoked potential (TSEP) before, during and after inferior alveolar nerve block were serially recorded in six healthy subjects (33-43 years of age; mean age 38.0 years). In four subjects in whom successful nerve block was achieved, TSEP showed linear flattening of the wave form. The recovery of TSEP slightly preceded the recovery of threshold of the sensation to electrical stimulation and that of two-point discrimination on the skin. In the remaining two subjects, in whom effective nerve block failed, TSEP showed no change in the wave form but did show slight prolongation of the latencies. We conclude that TSEP can be used as a method to confirm whether conduction anesthesia has been successful or unsuccessful.