Sensory disturbances of buccal and lingual nerve by muscle compression: a case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Introduction: several studies on cadavers dissection have shown that collateral branches of the trigeminal nerve cross muscle bundles on their way, being a possible etiological factor of some nerve disturbances. Case Report: a 45-year-old man attended to the Temporomandibular Joint and Orofacial Pain Unit of the Master of Oral Surgery and Implantology in Hospital Odontològic of Barcelona University, referring tingling in the left hemifacial región and ipsilateral lingual side for one year, with discomfort when shaving or skin compression. Discussion: several branches of the trigeminal nerve follow a path through the masticatory muscles, being the lingual nerve and buccal nerve the most involved. The hyperactivity of the muscle bundles that are crossed by nerve structures generates a compression that could explain certain orofacial neuropathies (numbness and / or pain) in which a clear etiologic factor can not be identified.