Re: Wisdom Tooth Coronectomy

From: orthodmd (orthodmd_at_gmail.com)
Date: 12/05/04 

Date: 5 Dec 2004 13:25:15 -0800

MajorSetback@excite.com (PeterOut) wrote in message news:<7da9efed.0412040719.2731782d@posting.google.com>...
> I am considering partial odontectomy (coronectomy) for my daughter
> since she needs her wisdom teeth removed but the root tips are
> sufficiently close to some nerve that there is a risk that her lip may
> be permanently anaesthetized with full odontectomy. I would be
> grateful for any comments on the risks of this procedure. I
> understand that the remaining roots may migrate and may need to be
> removed in the future but I am of the understanding that they would
> move away from the nerve thus reducing the danger of permanent
> anaesthesia of the lower lip. I have been told that coronectomy also
> carries a risk of permanent anaesthesia but that the risk is lower
> than for full odontectomy.
>
> Many thanks in advance,
> Peter.

Peter you sound well informed and you might be familier with the
literature on this subject but it sounds like a viable technique in
the right situation. Here is a short comment from a recent article.
More can be found at Medline.

Coronectomy (intentional partial odontectomy of lower third molars). 

Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology, and
Endodontology, Volume 98, Issue 3, Pages 274-280

B. O"Riordan
Conclusions Coronectomy is a worthwhile option to extraction where a
lower third molar is judged to be in close proximity to the inferior
alveolar nerve. In lower third molar removal the potential damage is
high when certain radiographic signs are present, whereas the
infection rate of roots remaining after coronectomy is, by contrast,
low.

charles j ruff, dmd
specialist in orthodontics
board certified in orthodontics