Surgical removal of a left lower third molar root after iatrogenic displacement in soft tissue. Case report

Displacement of a tooth or a portion of it is an unusual but very serious event for the severe consequences it could have. Already Hill and Howe in the half of the past century understood and described the risks associated to this accident particularly frequent during impacted third lower molars avulsion. Displacements can be idiopathic or iatrogenic and the sites of displacements depend on the anatomy of the tooth and the surrounding region. After a complete review of the literature, the authors describe the surgical removal of a left lower third molar root displaced in the soft tissue after a first extraction of the entire tooth. The necessary precautions to limit the frequency of this accident are then discussed.