Surgical extraction of impacted wisdom tooth 48

Dr. Pooja Jalan
Sep 17, 2017
1 min read

A healthy 30-year-old male patient presented to our clinic with an acute infection associated with impacted tooth 48. Clinical examination revealed a partially erupted tooth 48, with localized gingival swelling.

FIGURE 2. Pre-operative digital OPG demonstrating caries affecting impacted tooth 48

FIGURE 1. Pre-operative digital OPG demonstrating caries affecting impacted tooth 48.

A digital OPG was taken which demonstrated a horizontally impacted tooth 48, with roots in close proximity to the inferior alveolar nerve canal and appears to be grossly decayed crown structure due to caries. The patient was prescribed Amoxicillin 500mg + Clavulanic Acid 125mg TID for three days, along with Diclofenac + Paracetamol. A recommendation was made to remove tooth 48 under local anaesthetic once the acute phase of the infection had resolved.

FIGURE 1. Pre-operative photograph of infected tooth area

FIGURE 2. Pre-operative photograph of infected tooth area

The patient returned three days later for the removal of impacted tooth 48. Under local anaesthetic, a full thickness flap was elevated to expose tooth 48, which was then sectioned to facilitate its removal. An elevator was then used to extract the tooth.