Pericoronitis

Pericoronitis

This is a dental disorder in which the gum surrounding a tooth that is not completely erupted becomes swollen and infected.

It can happen around any partially erupted tooth but it is commoner with the wisdom teeth of the lower jaw. Wisdom teeth usually emerge late and may become impacted i.e. not completely erupted into the mouth.

Who Is Affected?

This is a common problem especially affecting young adult of age 16-25 years, older people with partially erupted wisdom tooth can also be affected.

Pericoronitis is the third most common dental infection; it is the commonest reason for extraction of wisdom teeth.

How Does Pericoronitis Come About?

It may develop when a wisdom tooth only partially erupts i.e. breaks through the gum, this breakage allows an opening for bacteria to enter around the tooth and cause infection.

Food particles and plaque that is composed that remain on the tooth after a while may get caught up underneath the flap of gum around the tooth, if it remains there it can irritate the gum, this is referred to as pericoronitis.

In severe cases, the infection may spread into the surrounding tissues, thus it becomes cellulitis – a life threatening infection that must be treated quickly to prevent further spread that could block the airway!

It has been proven that immune suppressing conditions like; emotional stress, fatigue, menstruation, pregnancy, upper respiratory tract infections, poor oral hygiene etc may trigger pericoronitis.

What Are The Symptoms?

Symptoms experienced is a function of severity and duration of infection; it may range from severe pain, fever, general feeling of being unwell, inability to open the mouth, difficulty in swallowing, there could be muscle spasm (jaw stiffness), pus discharge, swollen-reddish gum surrounding the affected tooth, dull pain and unpleasant mouth as the infection progresses. Other symptoms may include enlarge lymph nodes, swelling of the affected side of...