Re: Coronectomy

General Surgical Warnings:

Pain. As it is a surgical procedure, there will be soreness
after the tooth removal. This can last for several days.
Painkillers such as ibuprofen, paracetamol, Solpadeine or
Nurofen Plus are very effective. Obviously, the painkiller
you use is dependent on your medical history & the ease of
the operation.

Swelling. There will be swelling afterwards. This can last
up to a week. Use of an icepack or a bag of frozen peas
pressed against the cheek adjacent to the tooth removed
will help to decrease the swelling. Avoidance in the first
few hours post-op, of alcohol, exercise or hot foods/drinks
will decrease the degree of swelling that will develop.

Bruising & Bleeding into Cheeks. Some people are prone
to bruise. Older people, people on aspirin or steroids will
also bruise that much more easily. The bruising can look
quite florid; this will eventually resolve but can take several
weeks (in the worst cases).

Swelling that does not resolve within a few days may be
due to bleeding into the cheek. The cheek swelling will feel
quite firm. Coupled with this, there may be limitation to
mouth opening and bruising. Both the swelling, bruising
and mouth opening will resolve with time.

Stitches. The coronectomy site will often be closed with
stitches. These dissolve and will ‘fall out’ within 10 – 14
days.

Limited Mouth Opening. Often the chewing muscles and
the jaw joints are sore after the procedure so that mouth
opening can be limited for the next few days. If you are
unlucky enough to develop an infection afterwards in the
socket, this can make the limited mouth opening worse and
last for longer (up to a week or so).

Post-op Infection. You may develop an infection in the
socket after the operation. This tends to occur 2 – 4 days
later and is characterised by a deep-seated throbbing pain,
bad breath and an unpleasant taste in the mouth. This
infection is more likely to occur if you are a smoker, are on
the contraceptive pill, on drugs such as steroids and if bone
has to be removed to facilitate tooth extraction.

If antibiotics are given, they are likely to react with alcohol
and / or the Contraceptive Pill (that is, the ‘Pill’ will not be
providing protection).

Surrounding Teeth. The surrounding teeth may be sore
after the extraction; they may even be slightly wobbly but
the teeth should settle down with time. It is possible that
the fillings or crowns of the surrounding teeth may come
out, fracture or become loose. If this is the case, you will
need to go back to your dentist to have these sorted out.
Every effort will be made to make sure this doesn’t
happen. In very rare instances, the surrounding teeth may
actually come out as well as the intended tooth.

Failure of Anaesthesia. In rare cases, the tooth can be
difficult to ‘numb up’. This can be due to a number of
reasons. The more common ones include inflammation ±
infection associated with the tooth, anatomical differences
& apprehension. If the tooth fails to ‘numb up’ then its
removal will be rescheduled with antibiotic cover or
perhaps done under sedation or even a GA.