What and Where is the Inferior Alveolar Nerve?
According to StatPearls, the inferior alveolar nerve is responsible for “sensory innervation to the cheek, lips, chin, teeth, and gingivae.” Visually, it’s a nerve that runs along your bottom jaw, and it’s the nerve that your oral professional typically injects with local anesthetic when preparing your tooth for receiving a filling on a tooth on your lower jaw. If you’re getting a filling on a tooth on your upper jaw, your oral professional will inject an anesthetic into your superior alveolar nerve. In dental terminology, the process of injecting an anesthetic into these areas is called a nerve block.
Further, when you have pain in your mouth from a cavity, cracked tooth, abscess, or oral ulcer in your lower jaw, that region will send pain signals to the brain via the IAN. This nerve really does play a role in the whole ecosystem of your oral health!