An arrow on a diagram points to the RETROMOLAR area of the mandible. Which nerves supply sensation to this region?

Correct answer: A. Long buccal nerve and inferior alveolar nerve

• A. CORRECT. The retromolar pad and the buccal soft tissue behind the last molar are supplied primarily by the LONG BUCCAL NERVE (a branch of the anterior division of V3), with contribution from the INFERIOR ALVEOLAR NERVE for the bone and the associated dental structures. This is exactly why an IAN block alone often fails to anaesthetise the retromolar tissue for a third molar extraction and a long buccal supplement is needed.
• B. The mental and incisive nerves are the terminal branches of the IAN supplying the anterior mandible, chin and lower lip — anterior to the region indicated.
• C. The lingual nerve supplies the lingual gingiva and floor of mouth; the mylohyoid nerve is largely motor to mylohyoid and anterior digastric, with a variable accessory sensory twig. Neither is the primary retromolar supply.
• D. Greater palatine and nasopalatine nerves are MAXILLARY (V2) palatal nerves — wrong arch entirely.

Note: Arterial supply to the same region comes largely from the inferior alveolar and buccal arteries, both branches of the maxillary artery.