Functions- the senses Flashcards
What are the 12 cranial nerves:
I- Olfactory
II- optic
III- oculomotor
IV- trochlear
V- trigeminal
VI- abudcens
VII- facial
VIII- vestibucochlear
IX- glossopharyngeal
X- vagus
XI- accessory
XII- hypoglossal.
What is the ID block?
A local anaesthetic injection used to numb the Inferior alveolar dental nerve.
You have completed an ID block and the patient is reporting numbness of the lip and chin.
What caused this?
The Local anaesthetic was injected into the inferior alveolar dental nerve.
You have completed an ID block and the patient is experiencing bell’s palsy. What is the cause?
You have injected local anaesthetic into the parotid gland which affects the facial nerve.
You have completed an ID block and the patient is now experiencing trismus. What is the cause of this?
You have injected the LA into the medial pterygoid muscle.
What innervates the inferior alveolar dental nerve?
The mandibular division of the trigeminal nerve.
Compare anaesthesia, paraesthesia and dysaesthesia.
Anaesthesia is an insenstivity to pain
Paraesthesia is an abnormal tingling sensation (a good sign indicating numbness will return to normal)
Dysaethesia an abnormal unpleasant sensation when touched. (due to peripheral nerve damage)
What is bell’s palsy?
A facial paralysis that results in the inability to:
- close the eye
- Blink
- Raise the corner of the mouth
- puff out the cheeks
What is vital for dealing with a patient with bell’s palsy?
You need to inform the patient about what has happened.
And
You need to cover the patient’s eye with an eye patch to prevent dehyration.
Name the 5 branches of the facial nerve?
- Temporal
- zygomatic
- buccal
- mandibular
- cervical.
What is trismus?
A spasm of the jaw muscles causing them to remain closed.
We treat this by giving patient anti-inflammatories. (or muscle relaxants
Name the nerves involved in the gag reflex:
- Trigeminal (M)
- Glossopharyngeal (S&M)
- vagus (M)
- spinal accessory (M)
- Hypoglossal (M)
- Visceral nerves of the salivary glands.
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How can we overcome the patient’s gag reflex when taking impressions?
- Ensure the mixture is not too runny
- Get the patient to move their chin down
- Distract the patient (wiggle their foot/ breathe through their nose)
What can be used instead of a post dam for patients with dentures and a gag reflex.
A retaining mesh.
Describe the option of overdentures?
This is the process of decoronating the teeth and putting a denture over them.
Decoronation keeps the tooth root and periodontal ligament which allows the patient to still use their mechanoreceptors.
What do periodontal mechanoreceptors help us with?
- Assessment of the direction of the forces applied to the teeth
- Mastication
- Salivation
- Inter-dental discrimination
What does inter-dental discrimination allow ?
Detect high spots
Monitor food particle size
co-ordinate mastigatory movements
gauge the extent of mouth opening.
Why are implants weaker than an overdenture?
As implants don’t have mechanoreceptors.
This means there is no PDL to tell the patient the occlusal force is too big.
What is dysphagia?
When food gets caught in your esophagus.
What is the most likely cause of dysphagia, and what should we do to check it?
A stroke.
We examine both sides of the face and the cranial nerves in order to check.
What could also cause dysphagia?
salivary gland function (a patient’s medication can affect this)
What is two point discrimination?
The ability to feel the shape of something by compressing it between the tounge and the palate.
This is lost in dentures which cover the palate.
How are smell and taste connected in a patient?
A sense of smell stimulates the salivary glands and so a smelling disorder often affects the patient’s sense of taste.
