EC Dental Science

The surgical removal of mandibular third molars is a common procedure. The removal of a lower third molar can potentially cause permanent neurosensory disturbances of the inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) [1]. The incidence of IAN injury (IANI) reported in the literature ranges from 1.3% to 5.3%.

A coronectomy is a successful alternative procedure to reduce the risk of inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) damage, when lower third molar roots are in close proximity to the IAN [1,2]. It involves partial removal of the mandibular third molar; the crown is removed, but the root complex remains intact in the alveolar bone.

The objective of this work is to present a rare case of a patient with a very high risk of inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) damage and to investigate the application of coronectomy as an alternative surgical method for her right mandibular third molar (M3M). This approach is chosen over traditional surgical extraction in order to minimize the risk of IAN damage.

Coronectomy offers a viable alternative surgical approach to the extraction of mandibular third molars with a high risk of inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) damage. This is attributed to the substantial reduction in the risk of IAN damage and the low incidence of procedure failure.

 Keywords: Inferior Alveolar Nerve (IAN); IAN Injury (IANI); Mandibular Third Molar (M3M); Coronectomy

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