Coronectomy of deeply impacted mandibular third molars: Socio-demographics and sequelae after one year evaluation in a Saudi Arabian Sub-population

Abstract

BackgroundCoronectomy is a surgical procedure to prevent Inferior Alveolar Nerve (IAN) injury when extracting Impacted Mandibular Third Molars (IMTM’s). The aim of the present study was to report the sequelae of coronectomy. Materials and methodsThis is a prospective study of patients referred for surgical extraction of IMTM’s. Baseline investigations (panorama and CBCT) were done. Relationship between IMTM’s and IAN was defined as “contact, involvement and overlap”. Coronectomy procedure was carried out and recall visits at Times 1, 2 and 3 arranged. The effect of coronectomy on root migration on variables was determined using ANOVA. ResultsSeventy-three patients (24 (32.9%) males and 49 (67.1%) females) had coronectomy. Mean age ± SD (28.2 ± 6.7) and M:F (1:2) was observed. Sixty-five (89.0%) patients presented at Time 1 with 2.6 ± 0.62 mm root migration, while 55(84.6%) and 32 (58.2%) patients presented for Times 2 and 3 with root migration of 3.5 ± 0.76 mm and 4.0 ± 0.79 mm respectively. The migration rate was significant at 1st (p = 0.000), 2nd (p = 0.001) and 3rd (p = 0.000) review periods in the females. SFSR (Single Fused Straight Root) had the highest rate of migration with significance at 2nd and 3rd review periods (p = 0.035 and 0.029) respectively. ‘Contact’ relationship has the highest frequency and followed by ‘overlap’ relationship (42 (57.5%) and 24 (32.9%)) respectively. ‘Involvement’ relationship was the least with 7 (9.6%) cases. ConclusionThe present study showed that following coronectomy, there is rapid migration of remaining roots away from the IAN as observed in females, patients with conical/fused roots and the 31-40years.