Pericoronaritis. Causes, symptoms and treatment

pericoronarditis causes symptoms and treatment

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Pericoronarditis is a lesion caused by complications that generally occur while the wisdom tooth is erupting. It is considered a dental emergency. Pericoronarditis is a septic complication caused by infection of the sac surrounding the tooth during eruption and can be a starting point for other secondary infections in the vicinity of the tooth, surrounding soft tissues, jawbone or ganglia.

Other disorders that may occur during the eruption of the wisdom tooth are: dental neuralgia, muscle twitching, trismus (lock jaw). Depending on the manifestation and severity of this disorder, it can be classified into chronic and acute pericoronarditis. 

Chronic pericoronaryngitis - damage to the soft tissues around the molar and the pain can spread to the ear (radiating pain).

Acute pericoronaryngitis (suppurative or congestive) occurs with pain during mastication, swallowing is performed with difficulty and pain and when pressing the gum a watery liquid mixed with blood is removed. 

 

What causes pericoronary arteritis?

 

  • Inadequate oral hygiene;
  • Microbial factors: bacteria accumulated at the gingival level and around the crown of the incompletely erupted wisdom molar or that have remained in the bone and caused tissue inflammation in that area;
  • Scale build-up;
  • Accumulation of food waste;
  • Gum trauma during chewing due to hard foods or spicy/salty or very hot foods;

 

Symptoms of pericoronarditis

 

Because it is an infection, the symptoms are easy to identify and recognize when you suffer from pericoronaritis: 

  • gum redness and inflammation;
  • pain in the molar area;
  • unpleasant taste;
  • halitosis (bad breath);
  • hypersalivation;
  • pain while opening the mouth or inability to open the mouth;
  • mucosal inflammation;
  • accumulation of purulent discharge from the affected area;

Among the most serious complications caused by pericoronarditis are: cavernous sinus thrombophlebitis, pulmonary complications, laryngeal edema or sepsis. 

 

Pericoronaryngitis treatment

 

To treat pericoronaritis, we need to consider its severity:

  • in mild cases, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and analgesic washes/irrigations will be performed;
  • drainage of the purulent collection from the sac surrounding the dental crown under anesthesia;
  • decapping or removal of the saccule using dental laser. For minimal discomfort, this procedure can be performed even without anesthesia depending on the patient's degree of inflammation and tolerability at the time. Tooth extraction is performed after treatment of acute inflammation.

It is worth mentioning that you can also pain therapy and biostimulation with laser for faster healing and recovery even without antibiotic treatment. As the laser has an antibactericidal effect, the healing will be much faster, easier and with much less pain.