Dental Hygiene Local Anesthesia Practice Test

The main idea is that hematoma risk here comes from nearby blood vessels in the maxillary tuberosity area. The posterior superior alveolar vessels accompany the PSA nerve as it enters the maxilla near the tuberosity, so performing this block places the needle in close proximity to those vessels. A vascular puncture can shed blood into the soft tissues, producing a hematoma in the buccal area over the tuberosity or in the infratemporal space. The other injections target different regions (mandibular injections or the infraorbital area) where the maxillary tuberosity’s vascular structures are not as directly involved. So this nerve block is the one most associated with hematoma risk due to those nearby vessels.