Evaluation of the Outcomes of Coronectomy Procedure versus Surgical Extraction of Lower Third Molars Which Have a High Risk for Inferior Alveolar Nerve Injury: A Systematic Review

RESULTS: No study reported permanent inferior alveolar nerve injury (p-IANI) regarding coronectomy; however, transient inferior alveolar nerve injury (t-IANI) was reported in 0–2.20% of successful coronectomy and 0–8% of failed coronectomy. Postextraction t-IANI ranged from 0% to 16.66% while p-IANI from 0% to 3.63%. In 5 studies, root migration occurred in 2% to 85.3% of cases and the distance rate was 2.33–3.43 mm at 6 months postoperatively; then the migration gradually decreased and stopped at 12 months. CONCLUSION: This systematic review revealed that coronectomy is an efficient alternative for the management of impacted 3rd M with a high risk of IANI. Patients who got antibiotics postcoronectomy procedures had lower infection rates than those who did not receive antibiotic therapy. We recommend further research on coronectomy with longer follow-up periods to assess the retained roots' long-term outcomes and to assess the effect of antibiotics administration on postcoronectomy infection rate. This systematic review is registered under number CRD42020198394.