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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Oral. Health
Sec. Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Volume 5 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/froh.2024.1466076
This article is part of the Research Topic The Future of Third Molar Surgery View all 4 articles

Establishing Universal Sectioning Depth and Angle for Surgical Coronectomy of Impacted Mandibular Third Molars: An Imaging-Based Study

Provisionally accepted
Kamis Gaballah Kamis Gaballah 1*Shishir R. Shetty Shishir R. Shetty 1Vinayak Kamath Vinayak Kamath 2Wael Talaat Wael Talaat 1Tara Renton Tara Renton 3
  • 1 Department of Oral and Craniofacial Health Sciences College of Dental Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
  • 2 Goa Dental College and Hospital, Bambolim, Goa, India
  • 3 3Department of Oral Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences, King's College London, London, England, United Kingdom

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Coronectomy is a safer option than extraction for third molars with an increased risk of injury to the inferior alveolar nerve. However, it can still cause complications due to a lack of standardized and effective tooth sectioning techniques. We proposed a standardized protocol for third molar coronectomy involving standardized tooth sectioning parameters to minimize potential complications, surgical failure, and the need for further procedures. The study was conducted on 69 eligible archived CBCTs. The coronal sections of the mandibular at the anterior-most level of the lower third molar were used to determine various axes and reference points. This was done to establish the target angle and depth for the coronectomy sectioning. The data on the depth and angle of the sectioning was presented in means and standard deviation. A multivariate analysis of variance was used to determine the impact of study variables on drill depth and angle. Linear regression and correlation between study variables were also used to predict the drill depth and angle. The samples included 46 males and 23 females aged from 21 to 47 years. The mean drill angle was determined as 25.01±3.28. The mean drill depth was 9.60±9.90mm. The bucco-lingual tilt had a significant effect on the drill depth, F (1, 62) = 5.15, p <0.05, but no significant impact on the drill angle, F(1,62) = 29.62, p>0.05. The study results suggest that a standardized sectioning protocol can be effective during surgical coronectomy procedures. Drilling at a 25-degree angle to a depth of 9.5 mm is advisable to obtain the desired results. This approach will ensure no remaining enamel is left, minimize the chances of root extrusion and future eruption, and improve the outcome.

    Keywords: Impacted third molar, coronectomy, inferior alveolar nerve, complications, Oral surgery

    Received: 17 Jul 2024; Accepted: 02 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Gaballah, Shetty, Kamath, Talaat and Renton. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Kamis Gaballah, Department of Oral and Craniofacial Health Sciences College of Dental Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.