## 3 Results
### Subgroup Analysis of Patients with Implant-Related Nerve Injury  
Among the 79 patients (65.8%) who developed PTTNP following dental implant placement, there were no significant changes in the VAS scores before and after treatment (Wilcoxon signed-rank test, \(p=0.067\)). A significant negative correlation was observed between the symptom onset and the treatment duration ([PERSON]'s \(\varrho=-0.349\), \(p=0.002\)), indicating that an earlier presentation was associated with a longer treatment duration. A marginally significant negative correlation was noted between the symptom onset and the log-transformed VAS change ([PERSON]'s \(\varrho=-0.224\), \(p=0.050\)), suggesting that an earlier presentation may relate to a greater sensory improvement. No significant correlation was found between the Sunderland grade and the VAS change ([PERSON]'s \(\varrho=0.001\), \(p=0.996\)) or between the Sunderland grade and the treatment duration ([PERSON]'s \(\varrho=0.119\), \(p=0.296\)). Figure 3: Distribution of grouped systemic conditions among the study population (\(n=120\)). The most common category was metabolic disorders (\(n=32\)), including hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia. Thyroid disorders were the second most frequent group (\(n=7\)). \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline
**Category** & **Variable** & **Value** \\ \hline Demographics & Age (mean \(\pm\) SD) & 50.33 \(\pm\) 13.33 \\  & Age range & 12–77 years \\  & Gender (Male/Female) & 40 (33.3\%)/80 (66.7\%) \\ \hline Cause of Injury & Implant Placement & 79 (65.8\%) \\  & Tooth Extraction & 25 (20.8\%) \\  & Endodontic Treatment & 4 (3.3\%) \\  & Other Trauma & 12 (10.0\%) \\ \hline Injured Nerve & Inferior Alveolar Nerve (IAN) & 107 (89.2\%) \\  & Lingual Nerve (LN) & 6 (5.0\%) \\  & Maximillary Nerve & 3 (2.5\%) \\  & Mixed Nerve Involvement & 1 (0.8\%) \\ \hline Sensory Disturbances & Hypoesthesia & 55 (45.8\%) \\  & Hypoesthesia + Allodynia & 48 (40.0\%) \\  & Other Combinations & 17 (14.2\%) \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular} Data are presented as number (%) or mean \(\pm\) standard deviation.  
\end{table} 
Table 3: Demographic and etiologic characteristics in the total study population (\(n=120\)). Implant removal was performed in 41% of cases, and pharmacologic treatment was provided in 58.2%, primarily with gabapentinoids. However, there were no significant differences in the VAS changes based on the implant removal status (\(p\) = 0.625) or pharmacologic treatment (\(p\) = 0.159) (Table 4). When comparing the treated and untreated patients, there were no statistically significant differences in the log-transformed VAS changes (Mann-Whitney U test, \(p\) = 0.9873). Among those who received treatment, the log VAS changes varied by treatment duration group, but the differences were not statistically significant (Kruskal-Wallis H = 6.70, \(p\) = 0.1391). Notably, the 0-3 and 4-6 month groups showed positive mean changes, while the 7-12 month group showed a negative mean change, and the >12 month group showed a large positive change from a single case. These results reflect the substantial variability in individual recovery trajectories, despite overall trends (Table 5). No significant differences were found across the treatment duration groups (Kruskal-Wallis H = 6.70, \(p\) = 0.1391) or between the treated and untreated patients (Mann-Whitney U test, \(p\) = 0.9873). Treatment-related changes in the VAS are summarized, indicating a minimal improvement with no treatment, a modest reduction with pharmacologic and physical therapies, a greater reduction with surgical treatment, and the largest improvement with combined