Pericoronitis Treatment

WLAC Dental Hygiene Program

Improvement of oral hygiene to keep the area clean.

Ana de Lourdes Rodriguez

Frequent rinsing with warm salt water to sooth the

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patient. External application of heat should be avoided

since it promotes spread of infection towards the facial
skin.
References

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).

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

Drainage, if an abscess has developed.

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

Periodontology, 12th Edition. Elsevier Health Sciences.

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.

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

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

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

PERICORONITIS

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.

PERICORONITIS

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.

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

Stiffness in the jaw.

Pus discharge near the tooth from the gum.

A bad taste or smell in the mouth caused by the

How is Pericoronitis Diagnosed?

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

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.