Evaluation and clinical use of an intraoral inferior alveolar nerve block in the horse.

This research article proposes and studies a technique for performing an intraoral inferior alveolar nerve block on horses. The aim was to demonstrate that this method can effectively numb the nerve, allowing for invasive dental procedures to be performed on standing sedated horses. The study involved experiments on both horse skulls and cadavers, and live clinical cases, and found the technique to be effective and minimally invasive.

Objective and Methodology

• The study was designed to prove that an intraoral approach could be effectively used to apply local anesthesia to the inferior alveolar nerve in horses.
• A series of measurements were taken from 26 adult horse skulls of varying ages and breeds. These measurements, including distances from the mandibular foramen—the opening through which the nerve travels—to various anatomical landmarks, were used to guide the injection of the anesthetic.
• The anesthetic was then applied using a custom-made device to 4 equine cadaver heads. Computed tomography (CT) was used to verify the application of the anesthesia.
• The same technique was applied in 43 live clinical cases. These were horses requiring invasive dental procedures to be performed on their mandibular quadrants. The effectiveness of the nerve block was assessed by the patients’ ability to endure these procedures without discomfort.

Results and Conclusion

• CT imaging showed that the intraoral method was successful in delivering local anesthesia to the mandibular foramen.
• The anatomical localization of the mandibular foramen suggested that the anesthesia could be delivered using a 38mm needle.
• All clinical patients were able to undergo invasive dental procedures following the application of the nerve block, with no signs of self-inflicted lingual trauma.
• The study concluded that the intraoral technique was successful in desensitizing the inferior alveolar nerve with minimal complications.
• This method’s ability to deliver a lower volume of anesthetic directly close to the nerve, as compared to an extraoral method, could potentially reduce complications such as self-inflicted lingual trauma.