OBJECTIVE: Extraction of impacted mandibular third molars (IMTMs) is the most common surgery performed in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) injury is a rare but severe complication, and the risk is significantly higher in cases of IMTM near the inferior alveolar canal (IAC). The existing surgical method to extract such IMTMs is either not safe enough or is time-consuming. A better surgical design is needed.
METHODS: From August 2019 to June 2022, 23 patients underwent IMTM extraction by Dr. Zhao at Nanjing Stomatological Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, and were found to have IMTMs in close proximity to the IAC. Due to high IAN injury risk, these patients underwent coronectomy-miniscrew traction to extract their IMTMs.
RESULTS: The time between coronectomy-miniscrew insertion and complete removal of the IMTM was 32.65 ± 2.110 days, which was significantly shorter than that of traditional orthodontic traction. Two-point discrimination testing revealed no IAN injury, and no injury was reported by patients during follow-up. Other complications, such as severe swelling, severe bleeding, dry socket, and limited mouth opening, were not observed. Postoperative pain levels were not significantly higher in the coronectomy-miniscrew traction group than in the traditional IMTM extraction group.
CONCLUSIONS: For IMTMs that are in close proximity to the IAC and must be extracted, coronectomy-miniscrew traction is a novel approach to minimize the risk of IAN injury in a less time-consuming way with a lower possibility of complications.

The use of orthodontic traction to preserve healthy subgingival residual root is a classical method combining the treatment of restoration and orthodontics. Based on the target restoration space (TRS), by establishing a TRS digital model, the final traction position of the subgingival residual root can be preset. After evaluating the key parameters such as crown-to-root ratio and minimum crown height, clinicians can estimate the treatment time and exclude cases with bad preset position. The time of traction treatment can be effectively reduced, and the efficiency and efficacy of the entire treatment can also be improved.
牵引保存患者健康的龈下残根是当前修复与正畸联合治疗的经典内容。以满足最终目标修复体空间（TRS）需求为核心，通过TRS数字化模型，可以选择预设适合的龈下残根的最终牵引位置，并自动评估牵引后的冠根比、最小冠高度等关键参数后，预估治疗时间，并排除预设位置不良的病例，最终获得符合TRS的正畸牵引-修复方案，可以有效地减少牵引治疗时间，也提高了整个修复正畸联合治疗的效率和疗效。.

Our aim was to assess the efficacy of piezoelectric corticotomy for orthodontic traction of mandibular third molars close to the inferior alveolar nerve. Thirty patients with impacted third molars close to the nerve were included in the study, 15 of whom were treated with conventional orthodontic traction and 15 with piezoelectric corticotomy. We recorded duration of treatment including exposure and orthodontic traction, and time to the final extraction. Postoperative complications including trismus, swelling, and pain were also noted. Alveolar bone levels mesial and distal to the second molars were evaluated on cone-beam computed tomographic (CT) images. Student\'s t test was used to assess the significance of differences between the groups. After orthodontic treatments all impacted third molars were successfully removed from the inferior alveolar nerve without neurological damage. The mean (SD) duration of surgical exposure in the piezoelectric corticotomy group was significantly longer than that in the conventional group (p=0.01). The mean (SD) duration of traction was 4 (2.3) months after piezoelectric corticotomy, much shorter than the 7.5 (1.3) months in the conventional group (p=0.03). There were no significant differences in postoperative complications between the groups. There was a significant increase in the distal alveolar height of second molars after treatment in both groups (p<0.01). We conclude that the use of piezoelectric corticotomy allows more efficient and faster traction of third molars with a close relation between the root and the inferior alveolar nerve, although it took longer than the traditional technique.