Greater Palatine Nerve Palatal Graft — ORE Part 1 MCQ

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HardPeriodontologyGreater Palatine Nerve Palatal GraftORE Part 1

A 55-year-old patient develops persistent unilateral numbness of the hard palate after a connective-tissue graft has been harvested from the ipsilateral palatal donor site. Which nerve is most likely to have been injured?

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Correct answer: D — Greater palatine nerve

The correct answer is **A. Greater palatine nerve**. Palatal connective-tissue graft harvest is performed in the region traversed by the greater palatine neurovascular bundle; the greater palatine nerve supplies the majority of the hard palate, so damage can cause unilateral palatal numbness. The nasopalatine nerve is a plausible distractor because it supplies the most anterior midline hard palate, but it emerges through the incisive canal and is not the usual nerve endangered at a lateral palatal graft donor site. The lesser palatine nerve supplies the soft palate. The infraorbital and long buccal nerves do not provide sensory innervation to the hard palate.

Reference: Reiser GM, Bruno JF, Mahan PE, Larkin LH. Clinical measurements of hard palate and implications for subepithelial connective tissue grafts with suggestions for palatal nomenclature. Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, 2012. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9084301/