Extraoral surgical approach of ectopic mandibular third molar to the lower border of mandible

Abstract

The surgical removal of impacted lower third molar is an ordinary intervention. The treatment of choice in this pathology is an intraoral or, seldom, extraoral surgical approach. Various surgical procedures have been described to remove ectopic mandibular teeth. The more common technique is an intraoral approach (so named "conservative"), even when the tooth is located in an ectopic area. However, the "intraoral approach" is often related with the difficulty of view, the bleeding of the surgical site, and with the possible lesions of inferior alveolar or lingual nerve. From the other side, a nonconservative surgical approach like "extraoral pathway" may be associated with no aesthetic cutaneous postoperative scar tissue. The aim of those 2 study cases is to highlight the management of infected ectopic third molars located close to the lower border of the mandibular body, underlining the anatomical land markers of the submandibular area. The authors have applied the extraoral pathway using an incision of small size. From our analysis, the treatment of those typical can be managed by using a "mini-skin-incision" (so termed as mini-submandibular approach) respecting the cosmetic expectations of the patients.