Dentoalveolar Abscess Caused by Pericoronitis of an Erupting First Molar
<b>Background</b>: Pericoronitis is defined as inflammation of the soft tissues around the crown of an erupting tooth or a tooth with incomplete eruption, most commonly during eruption of the third molars. Pediatric dentists frequently encounter pericoronitis of the first molar, most of...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-06-01
|
| Series: | Diagnostics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/15/12/1531 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849433455389048832 |
|---|---|
| author | Kana Kawashima Masashi Ogawa Meiko Tachikake Yuto Shoji Tatsuya Akitomo Ryota Nomura |
| author_facet | Kana Kawashima Masashi Ogawa Meiko Tachikake Yuto Shoji Tatsuya Akitomo Ryota Nomura |
| author_sort | Kana Kawashima |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <b>Background</b>: Pericoronitis is defined as inflammation of the soft tissues around the crown of an erupting tooth or a tooth with incomplete eruption, most commonly during eruption of the third molars. Pediatric dentists frequently encounter pericoronitis of the first molar, most of which resolve spontaneously. We describe the case of a 7-year-old girl who was referred to our hospital with intractable swelling in the right buccal region. <b>Case Presentation</b>: Intraoral examination showed an erupting right mandibular first molar and facial examination revealed swelling and an accumulation of pus in the cheek region. Radiographic examination revealed no pathological findings; therefore, it was diagnosed as a cheek abscess, and the region was incised that day. However, the symptoms recurred 3 weeks later, and cone-beam computed tomography detected a bone defect in the right mandibular first molar region, confirming a diagnosis of dentoalveolar abscess caused by pericoronitis of the first molar. The swelling resolved after incision of the abscess, and bone recovery was confirmed by X-ray in the follow-up period. <b>Conclusions</b>: Erupting first molars is at risk of pericoronitis, which may sometimes progress to a dentoalveolar abscess. Dental professionals should be alert to this possibility and should advise pediatric patients and their guardians to maintain good oral hygiene around erupting molars. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-eb9ab7cdf33d42fa94b43552841a774f |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2075-4418 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diagnostics |
| spelling | doaj-art-eb9ab7cdf33d42fa94b43552841a774f2025-08-20T03:27:01ZengMDPI AGDiagnostics2075-44182025-06-011512153110.3390/diagnostics15121531Dentoalveolar Abscess Caused by Pericoronitis of an Erupting First MolarKana Kawashima0Masashi Ogawa1Meiko Tachikake2Yuto Shoji3Tatsuya Akitomo4Ryota Nomura5Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734-8553, JapanDepartment of Pediatric Dentistry, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734-8553, JapanDepartment of Pediatric Dentistry, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734-8553, JapanDepartment of Pediatric Dentistry, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734-8553, JapanDepartment of Pediatric Dentistry, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734-8553, JapanDepartment of Pediatric Dentistry, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734-8553, Japan<b>Background</b>: Pericoronitis is defined as inflammation of the soft tissues around the crown of an erupting tooth or a tooth with incomplete eruption, most commonly during eruption of the third molars. Pediatric dentists frequently encounter pericoronitis of the first molar, most of which resolve spontaneously. We describe the case of a 7-year-old girl who was referred to our hospital with intractable swelling in the right buccal region. <b>Case Presentation</b>: Intraoral examination showed an erupting right mandibular first molar and facial examination revealed swelling and an accumulation of pus in the cheek region. Radiographic examination revealed no pathological findings; therefore, it was diagnosed as a cheek abscess, and the region was incised that day. However, the symptoms recurred 3 weeks later, and cone-beam computed tomography detected a bone defect in the right mandibular first molar region, confirming a diagnosis of dentoalveolar abscess caused by pericoronitis of the first molar. The swelling resolved after incision of the abscess, and bone recovery was confirmed by X-ray in the follow-up period. <b>Conclusions</b>: Erupting first molars is at risk of pericoronitis, which may sometimes progress to a dentoalveolar abscess. Dental professionals should be alert to this possibility and should advise pediatric patients and their guardians to maintain good oral hygiene around erupting molars.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/15/12/1531dentoalveolar abscesspericoronitisfirst molarpediatric dentistry |
| spellingShingle | Kana Kawashima Masashi Ogawa Meiko Tachikake Yuto Shoji Tatsuya Akitomo Ryota Nomura Dentoalveolar Abscess Caused by Pericoronitis of an Erupting First Molar Diagnostics dentoalveolar abscess pericoronitis first molar pediatric dentistry |
| title | Dentoalveolar Abscess Caused by Pericoronitis of an Erupting First Molar |
| title_full | Dentoalveolar Abscess Caused by Pericoronitis of an Erupting First Molar |
| title_fullStr | Dentoalveolar Abscess Caused by Pericoronitis of an Erupting First Molar |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dentoalveolar Abscess Caused by Pericoronitis of an Erupting First Molar |
| title_short | Dentoalveolar Abscess Caused by Pericoronitis of an Erupting First Molar |
| title_sort | dentoalveolar abscess caused by pericoronitis of an erupting first molar |
| topic | dentoalveolar abscess pericoronitis first molar pediatric dentistry |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/15/12/1531 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kanakawashima dentoalveolarabscesscausedbypericoronitisofaneruptingfirstmolar AT masashiogawa dentoalveolarabscesscausedbypericoronitisofaneruptingfirstmolar AT meikotachikake dentoalveolarabscesscausedbypericoronitisofaneruptingfirstmolar AT yutoshoji dentoalveolarabscesscausedbypericoronitisofaneruptingfirstmolar AT tatsuyaakitomo dentoalveolarabscesscausedbypericoronitisofaneruptingfirstmolar AT ryotanomura dentoalveolarabscesscausedbypericoronitisofaneruptingfirstmolar |