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 Pericoronitis Treatment

  Improvement of oral hygiene to keep the area clean.

  Frequent rinsing with warm salt water to sooth the

patient. External application of heat should be avoided

since it promotes spread of infection towards the facial

skin.

  Soft diet to avoid further irritation of the gum tissue.

  Analgesics for temporary pain relief.

  Antibiotic therapy .

  Excision of the pericoronal flap of gum tissue

(if the dentist decides to not extract the tooth

immediately).

  Drainage, if an abscess has developed.

  Extraction of the impacted tooth.

The most severe cases when the swelling and infection

has spread to the neck may need to be treated in a

hospital with intravenous antibiotics.

Prevention of Pericoronitis

The only thing a patient with an impacted tooth can do to

prevent pericoronitis is to take extra care for the oral

hygiene around that tooth, and try to avoid injuring the area

with hard foods. Unfortunately, there is not much that can

be done to prevent the impaction of a tooth.

WLAC Dental Hygiene Program

 Ana de Lourdes Rodriguez

1724

References

Kang, F., Huang, C., Sah, M. K., & Jiang, B. (2016). Effect of Eruption Status

of the Mandibular Third Molar on Distal Caries in the Adjacent Second

Molar. Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, 74(4), 684-692.

doi:10.1016/j.joms.2015.11.024

Magraw, C., Golden, B., Phillips, C., Tang, D., & White, R. (2014). Pain with

Pericoronitis Affects Quality of Life.  Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial

Surgery, 72(9). doi:10.1016/j.joms.2014.06.052

Newman, M. (2015). Acute Gingival infections. In Carranza's Clinical

Periodontology, 12th Edition. Elsevier Health Sciences.

What is Pericoronitis? (n.d.). Retrieved May 21, 2016, from

http://www.dentaldiseases.org/conditions/gums/pericoronitis.htm 

PERICORONITIS

PERICORONITIS  

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What is Pericoronitis?Is common dental problem of the gums in young adults

at age 17-24 when wisdom teeth normally erupt in the

rrmouth. Pericoronitis refers to the inflammation of the

gingiva in

relation to the crown of an incompletely erupted tooth.

It occurs more often in the mandibular third molar

area.

What Cause Pericoronitis?

Pericoronitis happens when the wisdom teeth only

partially break through your gum, allowing an opening

for bacteria to get around the tooth, causing an

infection. This is called impaction. It can happen in

other teeth but it is rare to have impaction problems in

other teeth so impaction of wisdom

teeth is the main teeth involved. The wisdom teeth that

are usually affected are the ones in the lower jaw.

Some other factors that many consider predispose to

pericoronitis may include:

  Emotional stress

  Upper respiratory tract infections

  Fatigue

  Menstruation

Pericoronitis Symptoms

  Pain

  In the area of the affected tooth the gum tissue is

swollen. It may be difficult to bite down on

anything comfortably without the swollen tissue

being caught between the teeth.

  Bad breath that can be caused by bacteria and

food that becomes trapped under the gum flap.

  Stiffness in the jaw.

  Pus discharge near the tooth from the gum.

  A bad taste or smell in the mouth caused by the

pus that is leaking from the gums.

There can also be more serious symptoms

that can include:

  Throbbing pain that is severe.

  Lymph nodes in the neck under the chin become

swollen.

  Having muscle spasms in the jaw.

  On the affected side of your face there is swelling.

  Having difficulty in opening your mouth.

 

Fever

  Having difficulty in swallowing food

How is Pericoronitis Diagnosed?

Pericoronitis is easy to diagnose during a

clinical examination. In most cases the swelling

of the gum tissues around an impacted tooth is a

clear and very obvious sign of pericoronitis.

The gums are red, swollen or draining fluid or pus.

If pericoronitis is caused by a partially erupted or

impacted tooth then the dentist will usually take an

X-ray to determine the exact position, size, alignment,

and orientation of the tooth and decide about the

treatment accordingly.

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