Clinical and anatomic observations on the relationship of the lingual nerve to the mandibular third molar region

The position of the lingual nerve in the mandibular third molar region was measured and photographed in 34 cadaver dissections and 256 cases of third molar extraction. In 17.6% of the dissections the lingual nerve was found at the level of the alveolar crest or higher. Horizontally the nerve contacted the lingual plate of the third molar in 62% of the specimens. Of 256 patients, the nerve was visualized above the height of the lingual plate of the lower third molar in 12 (4.6%). These results document the vulner-ability of the lingual nerve as it passes medially to the mandibular third molar.