Evaluation of the Process of Recovery of Dental Pulp after Le Fort I Osteotomy

Le Fort I osteotomy has been established by many studies and is generally used, but hypoesthesia of the dental pulp, the most common complication, occurs in almost all patients. As such, we examined dental pulp sensibility, pulpal blood flow, and histological changes, to elucidate the process of functional recovery of dental pulp after Le Fort I osteotomy. Monkeys (Macaca fusucata) were used in this study. The animals underwent Le Fort I osteotomy in their unilateral maxillae. Histological and angiographic examinations were performed to observe the postoperative changes in the maxillae and dental pulp. Postoperative pulpal blood flow was examined using a laser Doppler flowmetry. Postoperative pulpal blood flow, by a laser Doppler flowmetry, and dental pulp sensibility, by electrodiagnostics, in patients who underwent Le Fort I osteotomy, were also examined. Although nerve fibers observed in the dental pulp of the maxilla degenerated and disappeared by one week postoperatively, they reappeared sparsely from two to three months after osteotomy, and there were abundant nerve fibers by one year postoperatively. In the angiographic examination, blood supply to the maxillary dental pulp was maintained throughout the postoperative period. In the examinations of laser Doppler flowmetry and dental pulp electrodiagnostics, ischemia in the dental pulp for three or four days after osteotomy might delay the recovery of dental pulp sensibility. These results suggested that blood flow in dental pulp at three or four days after surgery may affect the recovery of dental pulp sensibility.