Matías Huichacura Medina ¹ *, Diego Vásquez Aravena¹,² and Bastian Castro Reyes¹

¹ Dental Surgeon, Universidad San Sebastián, Concepción, Chile
² Dental Surgeon, Resident – Adult Emergency Unit, Dr. Sótero del Río Hospital, Santiago, Chile

*Corresponding Author: Matías Huichacura Medina, Dental Surgeon, Universidad San Sebastián, Concepción, Chile.

Received: January 20, 2026; Published: January 31, 2026

Abstract

Coronectomy is a maxillofacial surgical technique designed to reduce the risk of inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) injury in impacted mandibular third molars. This scoping review examines technical advances, bibliometric trends, and the clinical challenges associated with this procedure. The primary objective was to systematically evaluate the most recent Open Access scientific literature regarding coronectomy as a contemporary surgical option. A comprehensive search was performed following PRISMA-ScR guidelines across PubMed, Scopus, and ScienceDirect, including articles published in English or Spanish between January 2013 and December 2023, according to predefined eligibility criteria. The initial search yielded 109 records. After removal of duplicate studies (n = 5), 104 records were screened. During the primary screening, grey literature, in-vitro studies, animal studies, and articles without age or sex restrictions were excluded. In the secondary screening phase (“Open Access” and “Duplicates”), 88 records were removed because full texts were inaccessible or not openly available. Sixteen articles proceeded to full-text evaluation, from which one was excluded for being a cross-study design not aligned with the review criteria. Ultimately, 15 studies were included in the final synthesis. Across the selected studies, coronectomy demonstrated low rates of IAN injury when applied to high-risk mandibular third molars. While conventional extraction remains the preferred option for pathological third molars, coronectomy represents a valid and safe alternative when long-term monitoring of root migration and oral hygiene is emphasized. Further longitudinal retrospective studies are recommended to strengthen ethical consensus, refine clinical criteria, and improve future surgical practice.

Keywords: Coronectomy; Inferior Alveolar Nerve; Mandibular Third Molar; Maxillofacial Surgery; Root Migration

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Citation

Citation: Matías Huichacura Medina., et al. “Coronectomy as a Surgical Alternative for Mandibular Third Molars in Close Proximity to the Inferior Alveolar Nerve: A Scoping Review of the Literature". Acta Scientific Dental Sciences 10.2 (2026): 36-44.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2026 Matías Huichacura Medina., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.