Mental Nerve Block Technique — ORE Part 1 MCQ
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Correct answer: C — In the buccal mucosa adjacent to the mental foramen
The correct technique is to deposit local anaesthetic in the buccal mucosa adjacent to the mental foramen, allowing solution to diffuse around the emerging mental nerve. This produces anaesthesia of the lower lip, labial/buccal soft tissue and chin skin anterior to the foramen; it does not anaesthetise mandibular teeth. The foramen is commonly sought in the lower-premolar region, but its position varies, so it should be palpated rather than assumed. Injection within the foramen is not the standard dental technique and risks traumatic contact with the neurovascular bundle. Bilateral lip infiltration is a field-infiltration method rather than a mental nerve block. A cutaneous approach is an alternative route in other settings, not the specified intraoral technique. Depositing at the mandibular foramen is an inferior alveolar nerve block and is unnecessarily extensive.
Reference: Betz D, Fane K. Mental Nerve Block. StatPearls, updated 2023. PubMed record: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29489259/