Transcervical removal of an impacted third molar: an uncommon indication

This article presents a case of and reviews the literature involving the extraoral approach for surgical removal of an ectopic mandibular third molar tooth. Case reports describing extraction of the mandibular third molar using the extraoral approach are very limited. This article describes an unusual case of an impacted, infected, ectopic right mandibular third molar that was positioned at the inferior border and had caused an extraoral draining sinus. Furthermore, the roots were intimately involved with the inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) and had perforated the buccal cortex of the mandible. Surgical removal using a transcervical submandibular approach was deemed necessary to try to preserve the IAN and avoid fracture of the mandible in this 74-year-old patient.